University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
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Gophers Open Big Ten Tournament with 4-3 Win over Indiana
4/28/2021 4:41:00 PM | Tennis
Minnesota is slated to face No. 6 seed Penn State in the second round tomorrow at Noon CT.
Madison, WI. - The No. 11 seed Gophers kicked off the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday morning against No. 14 seeded Indiana. Minnesota rode an early lead to a 4-3 victory to advance to the second round on Thursday.
Doubles Play
The Gophers took the early lead by capturing the doubles point in the deciding third match. After Ekin Ercetin and Juliet Zhang swept their matchup 6-0, No. 1 pairing Rachel Hanford and Dalila Said grinded out a 7-5 win to capture the point for Minnesota.
Singles Play
The Gophers rode the early momentum to two more singles wins to extend their lead to 3-0. Juliet Zhang and Zeyneb Sarioglan both earned convincing victories in straight sets at the bottom of the lineup.
The Hoosiers refused to go down without a fight as they battled back in the second, third and fourth singles positions to even the match at 3-3. The match came down to the #1 singles position and freshman Rachel Hanford came up clutch for the Gophers with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory to send the team to the next round.
Notable
-Rachel Hanford, Zeyneb Sarioglan, Dalila Said, Lucia de Santa Ana and Dalila Said all participated in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time.
-Juliet Zhang picked up her third straight singles win.
-The Gophers won the doubles point for the fifth time this season.
Quotable
"Tough match against IU today but we are happy to be advancing to the next round," said head coach Catrina Thompson. "The doubles point was a difference maker today and JZ [Juliet Zhang] and Ekin [Ercetin] got us on the board early at #2 doubles and Rachel [Hanford] and Dalila [Said] battled out a win at #1 doubles. In singles Zeyneb [Sarioglan] and Juliet [Zhang] came out strong and Rachel toughed out a three setter to clinch the win for us."
Up Next
Minnesota is back in action in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament tomorrow at Noon ct. No. 11 Minnesota is slated to face No. 6 Penn State. The Nittany Lions beat the Gophers 4-3 in their only prior meeting this season.
Results
Doubles
1. Rachel Hanford/Dalila Said (MINN) def. A. Andrinopoulos/Jelly Bozovic (IND) 7-5
2. Ekin Ercetin/Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Laura Masic/Alexandra Staiculescu (IND) 6-0
3. Caitlin Bernard/Mila Mejic (IND) def. River Hart/Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 7-5
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Singles
1. #101 Rachel Hanford (MINN) def. Laura Masic (IND) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
2. A. Andrinopoulos (IND) def. Ekin Ercetin (MINN) 7-5, 6-4
3. Alexandra Staiculescu (IND) def. Dalila Said (MINN) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Jelly Bozovic (IND) def. Lucia De Santa Ana (MINN) 6-2, 0-6, 7-5
5. Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Michelle McKamey (IND) 6-2, 6-1
6. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) def. Caitlin Bernard (IND) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,5,2,4,3,1