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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