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Julia Fliegner and Jacob Bickersteth didn’t have their teammates cheering them on, but they had each other for moral support.

As they rallied from early deficits and tried to prevail in tiebreakers on adjacent courts in the finals of the ITA National Summer Championships last week, they were able to take some extra motivation from their shared connections.

Men's Singles Champion Jacob Bickersteth
© ITA

Fliegner, a sophomore, and Bickersteth, a junior, made it a clean sweep for the University of Michigan in singles.

Bickersteth defended his title with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 win over Clemson junior Ryuhei Azuma, while Fliegner beat Florida freshman Anastasia Sysoeva 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center on the campus of Florida State in Tallahassee.

Both Michigan natives received a wild card into the main draw of the ITA Men’s & Women’s All-American Championships in October.

“We were both cheering each other on a little bit through some tough spots,” Fliegner said. “I had some conflict on my court and Jacob looked over and told me to, ‘Keep battling. You got this Jules. Go Blue.’ That really helps.”