Wolverines to Kick Off B1G Play at Iowa, Nebraska

» The Wolverines begin their 11-match Big Ten Conference schedule this weekend, when they play at Iowa and Nebraska.
» U-M is 101-5 in Big Ten action under 11th-year head coach Ronni Bernstein.
» Michigan is in the midst of playing 11 straight matches away from the Varsity Tennis Center.

THIS WEEK
Friday, March 16 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 1 p.m. CDT | Live Scoring | Live Video
Sunday, March 18 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 11 a.m. CDT | Live Scoring | Live Video

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The University of Michigan women's tennis team (4-8, 0-0 B1G) kicks off Big Ten action this weekend, heading to Iowa (8-4, 0-0 B1G) on Friday (March 16) and to Nebraska (12-2, 1-0 B1G) on Sunday (March 18) for a pair of matches.

WOLVERINE BITES

• Michigan is out to snap a five-match skid when it begins Big Ten play at Iowa on Friday (March 16) and wrapping the weekend at Nebraska on Sunday (March 18).

• Michigan is kicking off Big Ten action this weekend. U-M will play 11 conference matches but will not face Indiana or Wisconsin as part of the slate. Michigan and Wisconsin squared off earlier this season as non-conference opponents at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, with the Wolverines claiming a 4-0 win.

• The Maize and Blue is 101-5 in Big Ten action under 11th-year head coach Ronni Bernstein. U-M has won at least 10 conference matches in each of the last eight seasons and has won seven of the last eight Big Ten championships.

• Michigan is 37-11 all-time against Iowa and has won the last 16 matches between the schools. U-M took a 4-3 decision last year in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes (8-4) feature the No. 49-ranked doubles team in Elise Van Heuvelen and Anastasia Reimchen. Iowa will play at Penn State on Wednesday (March 14) prior to hosting U-M.

• U-M is 6-0 all-time against Nebraska and shut out the Huskers (7-0) last year at the Varsity Tennis Center. After starting the season 0-2, Nebraska has reeled off 12 straight wins after a 4-3 win at Ohio State last Wednesday (March 7). The Huskers will host Michigan State on Friday (March 16) before welcoming Michigan on Sunday (March 18).

• Junior Kate Fahey has continued to shine at the top of Michigan's singles lineup, featuring a 7-0 mark at the No. 1 spot. She has won 10 straight matches to improve her overall singles mark to 16-5. She has not lost since the calendar flipped to 2018. Fahey has 83 career singles wins, putting her 15th all-time at Michigan. Her .805 winning percentage is tops at U-M as well as the only Wolverine to win at least 80 percent of their singles matches.

• As part of Black History Month, junior Brienne Minor was profiled by The Tennis Channel after winning last year's singles NCAA title. Watch the video here.

• In the latest singles rankings (March 6), Kate Fahey comes in at No. 21 and Chiara Lommer is at No. 81. The doubles pair of Brienne Minor and Mira Ruder-Hook is in the doubles rankings for the second straight week, earning a No. 42 ranking.

• Michigan is in the midst of playing 11 consecutive matches away from the Varsity Tennis Center. This weekend's matches are Nos. 9 and 10 of that stretch. Michigan is in search of its first true road win of the season.

NCAA RULES
Each team match will be a contest for the best of seven team points. Doubles action will begin immediately with no warmup, so fans are encouraged to arrive on time for matches. In addition, each doubles match will be one set to six, with a tiebreaker occurring at 6-all. The team that wins two-of-three matches will secure the doubles point. Following a five-minute intermission, singles action will begin with each match worth one point towards the team score. There will be no-ad scoring in both singles and doubles action. In addition, there is to be no noise made between first and second serves this season as part of new ITA sportsmanship guidelines.