Michigan women's tennis tops Florida, advances to fourth straight Sweet 16

Ann Arbor — The 12th-ranked Michigan women’s tennis team had to dig deep and used a gritty third-set win on the top court from Lily Jones to advance to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan (21-6), coming off Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, defeated No. 17 Florida, 4-2, on Sunday in brisk conditions with wind gusts of nearly 25 mph at the Varsity Tennis Courts and will play in the Sweet 16 at North Carolina next weekend.

This is the third straight season the Wolverines have hosted first- and second-round matches. Last year, they reached the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Lily Jones earned the clinching victory in Michigan's NCAA Tournament win over Florida in her final home match.

The Wolverines led 1-0 after doubles and dropped the first court but won the next two in tiebreaks. They built a 2-0 lead after Reese Miller won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Jessica Bernales won 6-4, 6-3 on Court 5 to give Michigan a 3-0 lead. But Michigan lost on Courts 2 and 6 as Florida (17-8) pulled within 3-2.

Jones, named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten tournament, lost the first set, 6-3, and trailed 0-2 in the second set before she came back to win 6-2 and force a third set. With all the momentum, she clinched the match win for Wolverines with a 6-1 third set.

“Just fighting as hard as I can,” Jones said when asked what turned her match. “I was down a set and 2-0 (in the second) and doing it for my team and staying out there trying to turn it.”

This was Jones’ final match at home for the Wolverines.

“It was amazing,” she said of earning the clinching victory in her final home match. “That’s kind of what I wanted. I cannot lose my last one here.”

After a tough start the season when Michigan was 1-4, including four straight losses to ranked teams, it has won 20 of its last 22 matches. This is the 16th time in program history Michigan has won 20 or more games in a season.

Michigan head coach Ronni Bernstein said Jones adjusted her court positioning and moved in to reduce her opponent’s ability to take the ball early and push her around.

“It’s cool for her as a senior,” Bernstein said of Jones’ victory. “It’s the last time she’s going to play here (and) to come through for us was big. She was a little stressed. It was hard playing today. Conditions were tough.”