The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
8 — Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Michigan wins first 
Big Ten Championship 
since 1996

ABHIJAI SINGH
Daily Sports Writer

Following on his serve, graduate 
student Nick Beaty rushed forward, 
volleyed the ball toward a Buckeye 
deep in his backcourt and screamed 
in bliss as his opponent failed to 
deliver a return shot over the net. His 
victory gave the No. 7 Michigan men’s 
tennis team a 3-1 lead and spelled a 
likely defeat for No. 4 Ohio State.
Then junior Ondrej Styler finished 
the job. After winning his tightly 
contested second set tiebreaker, he 
displayed 
Michigan’s 
astounding 
versatility by sustaining a seven-shot 
rally to win — not just his third set, 
but the Big Ten Championship.
Michigan (22-3 overall, 8-1 Big 
Ten) overcame a flurry of conference 
opponents — the last being Ohio 
State (24-3, 7-0) in a 4-2 victory — 
en route to retaining its first Big 
Ten 
Championship 
since 
1996. 
It’s a victory that has been on the 
Wolverines’ mind for a while.
“The ultimate goal would be to 
do well at the Big Ten Tournament,” 
freshman Patorn Hanchaikul said on 
Apr. 19. “Hopefully to win it.”
Goal 
accomplished, 
but 
that 
seemed fleeting during Michigan’s 
opening tournament match.
Two 
Wolverines 
faltered 
in 
their second sets, as senior Patrick 
Maloney lost his final game in 
straight points and sophomore Nino 
Ehrenschneider dropped his set, 
6-1 — even after five of six Michigan 
players won their first sets.
“We were scoreboard watching 
too much and waiting for other guys 
to finish,” Michigan coach Adam 
Steinberg said. “We lost that sense of 
urgency we had all year.”

Even then, senior Andrew Fenty 
maintained a heavy forehand to 
emerge victorious over Indiana’s 
Luka Vukovic, 6-2 and 6-1, while 
sophomore Jacob Bickersteth capped 
a two-set victory by winning his 
final service game in straight points, 
6-3 and 6-2. Together, they gave the 
Wolverines a 3-0 lead, but Michigan 
was forced to dip in a few third sets 
in search of a clinching fourth point.
After Maloney and Beaty lost to 
their Hoosier opponents, Styler won 
his third set, 6-3, and tacked on the 
final point to Michigan’s 4-2 victory 
over Indiana.
“First rounds are always tough 
in tennis,” Steinberg said. “(The 
match) showed us that, when it’s win 
or go home, we really have to focus, 
and I don’t think we were (against 
Indiana).”
Carrying these mistakes into the 
next round of the tournament, the 
Wolverines completed back-to-back 
match points in doubles in convincing 
fashion, including an ace by Maloney 
and Beaty. And while the matches 
only offered Michigan one point, it 
kickstarted their smooth 4-0 win 
over Illinois.
That confidence extended to the 
singles matches as well.
Even as Maloney fell behind in 
his first set, 3-1, he raced back with 
attacks at the net and finished his 
first set in a win, 7-5. A few courts 
away, Beaty also won his first set, 
6-4. Both were one game away from 
winning their matches in straight 
sets, as they were called off due to 
Michigan clinching a victory.
Leading the Wolverines’ explosion, 
Ehrenschneider jumped out to 4-0 
first set leads against Indiana and 
Illinois.

It all came down to one match.
Tied at 3-3, No. 20 Michigan and 
Northwestern looked to their five 
singles games to decide who would 
advance to the Big Ten Championship 
match. Freshman Julia Fliegner 
dropped the first set 7-6, just as she 
had to the exact same opponent, 
Christina Hand, a week before 
against the Wildcats. However, she 
fought back to win the second set, 7-5, 
and put herself in a spot to win it for 
the Wolverines.
And that wasn’t her only win 
on the weekend. Fliegner and the 
underclassmen played an integral 
part in taking down Northwestern 
and Ohio State, propelling Michigan 
to its fourth Big Ten Tournament in 
the past five seasons.
“I have been in that position a 
few times now and am much more 
comfortable 
being 
the 
deciding 
match,” Fliegner said. “It made me 
lock in and I knew there was zero 
room for error since I wanted to pull 
through for my team.”
After splitting the first four 
games, 2-2, both teams arrived at 
the adjacent court when the other 
matches ended. Thriving under the 
pressure, Fliegner rattled off three 
straight games, but then she went 
down 40-love while serving.
Just as it looked like Northwestern 
still had a glimmer of hope, Fliegner 
won four straight points to clinch 
a spot in the championship for 
Michigan.
“(Hand) flew a backhand long that 
I didn’t think was going out, but as 
soon as it landed everything was a 
blur,” Fliegner said. “I looked at my 

team right away and they were all 
sprinting at me and we were jumping 
up and down. It was one of those 
moments you watch as a junior player 
and hope to feel as a college athlete 
because it’s one of the best feelings 
in the world: winning with your best 
friends.”
Fliegner’s dominance continued 
through the Big Ten Championship 
on Sunday against No. 10 Ohio State, 
collecting singles and doubles wins to 
put her record at 5-0 on the weekend.
Other underclassmen stepped up 
too. Sophomore Kari Miller took care 
of business soon after Fliegner at the 
No. 1 spot, and her clinical 6-2 6-2 
victory put the Wolverines up 3-0. 
Michigan then turned to another 
underclassman 
to 
complete 
the 
unprecedented sweep: sophomore 
Jaedan Brown. The Wolverines were 
down in their three other matches, 
but Brown had a chance to bring out 
the brooms in a second set tiebreak. 
After battling to a 3-3 tie, both players 
took a break on the changeover. After 
that pause, Brown took control.
Just as Fliegner before her, Brown 
won four straight points and swept 
Ohio State. Michigan not only pulled 
off the upset, but dominated through 
its young players.
“It’s just incredible how these 
kids are stepping up and getting the 
job done,” Michigan coach Ronni 
Bernstein said. “I can’t stress how 
well we played today. Ohio State’s 
a great team. … We pretty much 
couldn’t play better on every court. So 
(I’m) just really proud.”
The Wolverines’ underclassman 
flourished in the big moments. Not 
only did that young talent show poise 
to win the Big Ten Tournament, but it 
also heated up heading into the most 
important part of the year: the NCAA 
Tournament.

JOSEPH ZAIN RODGER
Daily Sports Writer

Underclassmen power 
Michigan to Big Ten 
Championship

GRACE BEAL/Daily
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

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