Seniors propel Michigan to win over Miami
After dozens of matches in Ann Arbor over the past few years, the seniors of the Michigan women’s tennis team returned to Ann Arbor for their final home match. In the Wolverines’ best season of all time, their veteran experience is making the difference in the postseason. The seniors stayed calm and consistent in big moments despite tough conditions to sweep Miami.
Seniors Kari Miller and Jaedan Brown kicked off the doubles point strong on court No. 1. After a solid junior year as partners, the duo finished the 2023-2024 season ranked in the top 10. Coming off a doubles title at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, the pair overpowered the Hurricanes.
After going up 30-0 tied at one game apiece, Miami was on the cusp of snatching the momentum by breaking Brown’s serve. Miller and Brown stuck with their strategy of hammering the net, and Miller finished the game with a forehand down the line to hold serve. The pair then sailed smoothly to a comfortable 6-1 win.
Michigan clinched the doubles point and stormed out to a 3-0 lead after dominant wins from junior Julia Fliegner and freshman Piper Charney. Three seniors were left on the court, including Miller, Brown, and Gala Mesochoritou.
Mesochoritou blazed through the first set at No. 3 singles, targeting her opponent’s weak backhand en route to a 6-1 win. However, mental errors plagued her second set. She became visibly frustrated with herself as Hurricane senior Leonie Schuknecht broke her serve to fall into a 2-0 hole.
Schuknecht took advantage of her opportunity, using her dangerous forehand to seize control. She won the set, 6-2. Mesochoritou retreated to the bench and took on a new mentality for the third set.
“I just said to myself, ‘You have to make every single ball,’ ” Mesochoritou said. “I wasn’t going for too much because I wasn’t playing great. So I was like, ‘You’re just going to run everything down and make every single ball until that girl misses it.’ And that’s what I did. I just fought until I figured out a way to win.”
Pressure is nothing new to Mesochoritou. In 2023, she clinched an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal berth for the Wolverines. After locking in to start the third set, she’d take her opportunity yet again.
“I’ve been in this position so many times,” Mesochoritou said. “My freshman year I’d be really nervous playing a third set in these conditions, but after four years, I feel like I’ve done it so many times, so it wasn’t that bad.”
Mesochoritou was a wall in the third set. Her unrelenting, gritty mentality wore her opponent down as she dominated her final set in Ann Arbor. She whipped a forehand return down the line and emphatically smacked the net with her racquet after winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.
In a bittersweet victory, Michigan seniors left their sweat and tears on the court.
“Our seniors, it means a lot to them,” Wolverine coach Ronni Bernstein said. “Jaden just broke down in tears. They’re super excited. When the season started, they had high expectations … Why can’t it be us?”
And after their dominant sweep against Miami, it’s clear that the Wolverines can win a National Championship. As the seniors showed, they’ll continue to fight for it.
