Michigan women's tennis heading to third straight Sweet 16, men in second round
It was a bit too close for comfort, but the end result was well worth it.
And for the third consecutive season, the Michigan women's tennis team will head to the Sweet 16.
The 15th-ranked Wolverines came from behind Saturday to knock off No. 19 Texas A&M, 4-3, during an NCAA Tournament second round match at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor.
After falling behind early, Michigan rallied to knot the dual score at 3-3 before sophomore Brooke Bolender came from behind to knock off A&M's Nazari Urbina (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) in the final match of the day to give the Wolverines the victory.
Brooke Bolender
Saturday marked the third time this season, and second time in three weeks, that a dual was decided on Bolender's final match. With the win, the sophomore improves to 25-11 on the year.
Michigan also earned singles victories from Sarah Lee (6-2, 6-2 over Janelle Cuthbertson), Kristen Dodge (7-5, 6-1 over Lauren Santacroce) and Michelle Sulahian (6-1, 6-3 over Janine Erasmus).
Michigan's lone doubles win came from the team of Mimi Nguyen and Sulahian, who knocked off Nazari Urbina and Jannelle Cuthbertson, 8-2.
With the victory, Michigan advances to battle second-seeded Florida on Thursday during a Sweet 16 matchup at the University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Men's tennis earns NCAA first round win
The 21sth-ranked Michigan men's tennis team made quick work of Middle Tennessee State on Saturday during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the Blue Raiders 4-0 in Oxford, Miss.
The Wolverines swept the doubles matches and got singles wins from Evan King (No. 1), Alex Petrone (No. 2) and
Barrett Franks (No. 5). Michigan was tied or trailed the other three singles matches when they were abandoned upon the Wolverines clinching the victory.
Michigan will now battle No. 13 Mississippi on Sunday in the second round.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
Get the Ann Arbor RSS Feed
AnnArbor.com