Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Back on the Road at No. 25 Northwestern, Illinois
4/2/2019 3:41:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Michigan re-entered the top 25 of the ITA rankings this week, moving up eight spots to No. 18.
» U-M is kicking off a five-match swing away from the Varsity Tennis Center to conclude the regular season.
» Michigan and Northwestern faced off twice last season, with both matches ending with a 4-3 score. NU won during the regular season, with Michigan avenging the loss in the Big Ten Tournament championship match to win the tournament title.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, April 6 -- at No. 25 Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 11 a.m. CDT
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Sunday, April 7 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 11 a.m. CDT
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The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (11-4, 7-0 Big Ten) kicks off a five-match road swing to end the regular season this weekend, traveling to Illinois to take on No. 25 Northwestern (11-5, 5-0 Big Ten) on Saturday (April 6) and the Illini (8-9, 3-2 B1G) on Sunday (April 7). Both matches are slated for an 11 a.m. CDT start.
Wolverine Bites
• The Wolverines ran their winning streak to six matches with a 5-0 win over Penn State (March 29) and a 4-1 victory over No. 19 Ohio State (March 21) at the Varsity Tennis Center. U-M has outscored its seven Big Ten opponents, 40-3, this season.
• Michigan is in a four-way tie atop the Big Ten standings with a 7-0 record. Northwestern (5-0) and Wisconsin (5-0) are each unbeaten in conference play as well. U-M does not face Wisconsin during the regular season and square off against Northwestern this weekend.
• Michigan is back in the top 25 of the ITA rankings this week, vaulting up to No. 18 after coming in at No. 26 last week. U-M and Florida (23) made the biggest jumps this week, each moving up eight spots.
• The Wolverines are kicking off a busy month on the road, closing the regular season with five straight road matches. After this weekend, U-M plays three matches next week at No. 23 Florida (April 11), at Rutgers (April 13) and at Maryland (April 14). Michigan will take a weekend off before heading to Nebraska for the Big Ten Tournament (April 25-28).
• Michigan and Northwestern split the season series last year, with Northwestern winning during the regular season and Michigan avenging the loss in the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament. Both matches came down to the final match on court, with NU winning at No. 6 during the regular season and Michigan winning at No. 3 during the tournament to clinch their respective wins. The Wildcats won the regular-season title, with Michigan taking the tournament title.
• No. 25 Northwestern (11-5, 5-0 Big Ten) enters this weekend's match having won its last five matches, with its last loss coming to Pepperdine on Feb. 24. NU has one ranked singles player in No. 37 Clarissa Hand, while Hand teams up with Lee Or to come in at No. 40 in doubles. Julie Byrne and Hannah McColgan are ranked No. 82 in doubles to round out Northwestern's ranked teams.
• Illinois (8-9, 3-2 Big Ten) has won two straight and will host Michigan State before welcoming Michigan. The Fighting Illini have one ranked singles player in No. 47 Asuka Kawai to highlight their singles lineup. U-M took both matches from Illinois last season, winning, 4-0, at the Varsity Tennis Center during the regular season and winning the final two matches off court in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament for a 4-3 win.
• Senior Brienne Minor is one singles win away from becoming the ninth Wolverine in school history to reach 100 singles wins. Minor enters the weekend with a 99-28 mark on the singles court.
• U-M is 118-6 in Big Ten play under 12th-year head coach Ronni Bernstein. Michigan went 10-1 last season during conference play and has a 7-0 record this season.
• Michigan is 11-0 this season when it wins the doubles point, earning victories over Ole Miss, Michigan State, Texas, Pepperdine, Baylor, Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota, Penn State and Ohio State when securing the match's first point.
• Head coach Ronni Bernstein mixed up Michigan's doubles lineup as the Wolverines resumed Big Ten play against Nebraska (March 16) and it has paid off. Seniors Brienne Minor and Kate Fahey are 6-0 at the top spot in the six matches since, with Anca Craciun and Giulia Pairone recording a 5-0 record at No. 2. Michigan has won the last six doubles points since the switch.
• The Wolverines have six players who have reached double-digit singles wins in Kate Fahey (27), Chiara Lommer (21), Brienne Minor (19), Giulia Pairone (19), Alyvia Jones (14) and Anca Craciun (13).
• Michigan features four ranked singles players in No. 3 Kate Fahey, No. 28 Chiara Lommer, No. 49 Brienne Minor and No. 85 Giulia Pairone. Fahey and Minor, who have won six straight on the doubles court, come in at No. 33 as a duo.
• Senior Kate Fahey heads into the weekend with a 27-5 singles record this season. Fahey swept the titles at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships (Oct. 18-23) and finished as the singles runner-up at the ITA Fall National Championships (Nov. 7-8). Fahey is 121-28 in singles during her illustrious career, putting her third all-time in wins. Fahey's .812 winning percentage is tops in Michigan history. Emina Bektas (129) and Sarah Lee (125) occupy the top two spots on the all-time wins list.
Players Mentioned
