Although up 3-1, the Illinois women’s tennis team couldn’t hold off Michigan as it dropped a 4-3 loss Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc., in the Big Ten Tournament.

An early loss in the doubles point proved crucial down the wire. The No. 36 Illini got on the board with three straight singles victories from Megan Fudge, Leigh Finnegan and Kristina Minor.

But Michigan wouldn’t let up. Illinois sophomore Marisa Lambropoulos’ efforts fell short against Michigan’s Whitney Taney in a second-set tiebreak loss, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), and set the stage for Illinois’ two freshmen Amy Allin and Chelcie Abajian.

Both freshmen were battling in third sets, but the Wolverine’s Denise Muresan pulled off a tight 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Abajian to seal the win for No. 18 Michigan.

The second-seeded Wolverine’s will advance to the Big Ten finals to square off against top-seeded Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.