Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan to Wrap Up Road Schedule with Two Conference Matches
4/10/2018 2:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» No. 12 Michigan split the first half of its four-match road trip. The Wolverines fell to No. 6 Illinois on Saturday before bouncing back with a win over Northwestern on Sunday.
» The Maize and Blue will conclude its time on the road with matches at Wisconsin on Friday and No. 36 Minnesota on Sunday.
» U-M senior Runhao Hua, ranked No. 35 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, won all four of his matches -- two in singles and two in doubles -- this past weekend.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, April 13 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 3 p.m. CDT
Live Stats/Video
Sunday, April 15 -- at No. 36 Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 3 p.m. CDT
Live Stats/Video
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team (16-4, 5-2 B1G) will have two Big Ten Conference road matches this weekend. U-M will face Wisconsin (11-9, 3-4 B1G) on Friday and Minnesota (12-6, 5-2 B1G) on Sunday. Both matches will begin at 3 p.m. CDT.
• Following this past weekend's results, the trend that has lasted all season for the Wolverines remains. U-M is now 16-0 against teams not ranked in the top the top 10, but has not been able to defeat any team inside of the top 10. Michigan's four losses came against No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Illinois, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 10 Florida.
• Wisconsin is currently on a three-match skid after losses to Ohio State, Indiana and Purdue. However, the Badgers boast a 10-1 record at home this season.
• Friday's match will mark the 90th time that Michigan and Wisconsin men's tennis have faced each other. A Michigan victory would give the Wolverines its 80th in the all-time series, as they currently hold a 79-9-1 lead. U-M has won the previous nine meetings.
• While not having any players ranked in singles, the Badgers have a doubles pairing in the top five. The European tandem of Chema Carranza (Spain) and Josef Dodridge (England), after being ranked as high as No. 2, are now ranked as the fourth-best doubles pairing in the nation.
• The Wolverines' 5-2 home victory over Minnesota in last season's matchup was the 90th meeting between the two programs. Michigan is looking to improve upon its 54-34-2 overall series lead against the Gophers on Sunday.
• Sunday's match will be the last home contest of the season for the Golden Gophers. They are 6-2 in matches played at the Baseline Tennis Center, their home venue.
• Like Michigan, Minnesota has three players in the ITA singles rankings. Highest on the list is Serbian sophomore Stefan Milicevic (No. 80), who is trailed closely by No. 99 Matic Spec and No. 101 Felix Corwin.
• Michigan senior Runhao Hua totaled a 4-0 record this past weekend. Hua won both of his singles matches in the No. 2 position, and playing with freshman Mattias Siimar, won both of his doubles matches -- also at the No. 2 position. Hua, ranked No. 35, is now 6-1 in singles matches against conference opponents and has won four consecutive matches -- the longest active streak on the team.
• For the second week in a row, Michigan has three players in the singles rankings; but it is not Myles Schalet joining Hua (No. 35) and Alex Knight (No. 11) this week. Freshman Mattias Siimar, who has compiled a 10-4 record in dual-match singles play, is the third Wolverine in the rankings at No. 124. This is Siimar's first time cracking the rankings list as a collegiate tennis player.
• If the Wolverines win their final four regular-season matches, it would be the best regular-season winning percentage (.833) for the program in the past 11 seasons. It would also mark the second consecutive 20-win regular season for head coach Adam Steinberg and the program.
• U-M is tied in third place at 5-1 in the Big Ten Conference standings. If Michigan and Minnesota are able to beat Wisconsin and Michigan State, respectively, then the winner of Sunday's match will take sole possession of third. Illinois and Ohio State sit atop the standings at 7-0.
NCAA RULESEach 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.
Players Mentioned
