Michigan to Face Spring-Break Tests at No. 4 Texas, No. 17 Pepperdine

» No. 16 Michigan hits the road over spring break for a pair of ranked teams in No. 4 Texas and No. 17 Pepperdine.
» Senior Chiara Lommer enters the week on a six-match winning streak, leading U-M with six dual-match wins.
» Michigan will spend the spring break week training while also playing two matches to wrap up the non-conference season.

THIS WEEK
Tuesday, March 3 -- at No. 4 Texas (Austin, Texas), 2 p.m. CST
TV: Longhorn Network | Live Video | Live Scoring
Saturday, March 7 -- at No. 17 Pepperdine (Malibu, Calif.), Noon PST
Live Video/Scoring

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The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (5-4) hits the road over spring break for a pair of matches against ranked opponents. First up for U-M is No. 4 Texas (8-3) Tuesday (March 3) for a 2 p.m. match at Texas Tennis Center in Austin. Michigan will wrap up the swing on Saturday (March 7) at noon PST, facing No. 17 Pepperdine (6-4) at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, California.

Wolverine Bites

• The No. 16-ranked Wolverines knocked off No. 11 Princeton, 4-2, last time out (Feb. 28) in Ann Arbor for their third win over a ranked opponent this season. Michigan won the doubles point and got singles wins from Andrea Cerdan, Chiara Lommer and Bella Lorenzini in the match.

• Michigan kicks off a four-match road swing this week with a pair of matches against ranked teams. U-M will not be back home at the Varsity Tennis Center until hosting a doubleheader against Nebraska and Toledo on March 20.

• The Wolverines are looking for their first true road win of the season after dropping matches on the road at No. 1 North Carolina and at No. 13 Virginia. Michigan will most likely play both matches outdoors, its first outdoor matches of the season.

• Michigan and Texas are squaring off for the ninth straight season and 10th time in program history. U-M is 6-3 all-time against the Longhorns after a 6-1 win in Ann Arbor last year. The Longhorns have three ranked singles players in No. 3 Anna Turati, No. 26 Bianca Turati and No. 61 Lexi Ryngler. The Turati sisters combine to form the No. 20-ranked doubles team.

• Michigan and Pepperdine are meeting for the second straight season after Michigan recorded a 4-0 win over the Waves at the VTC last season. U-M is making its first trip to Malibu for a dual match since a 6-1 win on March 5, 2010. Pepperdine has three ranked singles players in No. 2 Ashley Lahey, No. 45 Anastasia Iamchkine and No. 53 Jessica Failla.

• U-M has quite the non-conference schedule, with the Wolverines facing another ranked pair of teams in No. 4 Texas and No. 17 Pepperdine to mark their eighth and ninth matches against top-25 squads. In this week's rankings, Michigan has already faced No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 Princeton, No. 13 Virginia and No. 25 UCF. Florida was ranked No. 24 when Michigan recorded a 4-0 shutout of the Gators.

• Michigan has been solid at the bottom of the singles lineup this season, going 15-7 at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6. U-M is 7-1 at No. 4, with junior Alyvia Jones leading the way with three wins. Senior Chiara Lommer paces the team at No. 5 with three wins as U-M has gone 5-3 at the spot. Junior Bella Lorenzini has three wins at No. 6, where Michigan is 3-3 this season.

• Senior Chiara Lommer has hit her stride since dual-match play has started, going 6-1 in Michigan's nine matches. She has won six straight matches after falling in Michigan's first dual match of the season against Ole Miss. The lefty has clinched two matches for the Maize and Blue this season, coming against UCF (Jan. 26) and Illinois (Feb. 9).

• Chiara Lommer paces the Wolverines with six dual-match wins, with Alyvia Jones in second with four wins. Seven Wolverines have recorded a dual-match win this season. Overall, U-M has six players who have won at least 10 total matches, led by freshman Nicole Hammond with 15 wins.

• A trio of Wolverines appear in the latest ITA singles rankings in No. 24 Giulia Pairone, No. 85 Andrea Cerdan and No. 93 Alyvia Jones.

• Michigan will kick off Big Ten Conference action next week, heading to Penn State (March 13) and Ohio State (March 15).