Michigan to Kick off Dual-Match Season with Doubleheader at VTC

Saturday, January 22

Ann Arbor, Mich.

11:00 AM

Michigan

Western Michigan

Nicole Hammond (left), Anca Craciun (Michigan Photography)

Michigan to Kick off Dual-Match Season with Doubleheader at VTC

1/19/2022 4:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Sarah VanMetre

» Michigan kicks off the dual-match portion of the season Saturday with a doubleheader against Western Michigan and Oakland.
» U-M begins the dual-match season ranked No. 14 in the ITA Coaches Poll, with Kari Miller (No. 17), Julia Fliegner (No. 99) and Nicole Hammond (No. 120) each ranked in singles.
» The Wolverines are 33-5 all-time against WMU and are facing Oakland for the first time in a dual match.

THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 22 -- vs. Western Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
Live Scoring/Video | U-M Vaccination Policy
Saturday, Jan. 22 -- vs. Oakland (Varsity Tennis Center), 4:30 p.m.
Live Scoring/Video | U-M Vaccination Policy

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Note: Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the University of Michigan has instituted a proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative-test protocol for indoor athletic events. Face masks continue to be required and must be worn during all home indoor athletic events. [ U-M Vaccination Policy ]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team beings the dual-match portion of its schedule on Saturday (Jan. 22), hosting Western Michigan and Oakland at the Varsity Tennis Center. U-M will face WMU at 11 a.m. and Oakland at 4:30 p.m. Admission to both events is free.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan begins the dual-match portion of its schedule ranked No. 14 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Coaches Poll. U-M is slated to face No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 9 California, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 11 UCF and No. 23 Princeton this season, with the possibility of playing No. 12 Georgia Tech at the ITA Kick-Off.

• The Wolverines have a trio of ranked singles players following tournament action in No. 17 Kari Miller, No. 99 Julia Fliegner and No. 120 Nicole Hammond.

• After missing the postseason last season and the fall portion of the schedule with a knee injury, sophomore Gala Mesochoritou made her season debut last weekend at the Michigan Invitational. She teamed up with Lanie Van Linge on the doubles court and played a singles match against Notre Dame's Carrie Beckman. Mesochoritou holds the single-season record for winning percentage at 1.000 after going 17-0 in singles last year as a freshman.

• Michigan has one newcomer in freshman Julia Fliegner, who hails from Birmingham, Mich., and played tennis at Detroit Country Day. In addition, senior Lanie Van Linge is back after not playing tennis a season ago.

• U-M wrapped up tournament action last weekend (Jan. 14-16), hosting Duke, Ohio State and Notre Dame as part of the Michigan Invitational. Six Wolverines won at least one singles match, with Nicole Hammond, Kari Miller and Julia Fliegner each winning two matches.

• Michigan compiled an impressive 69-39 singles record during tournament action, good for a .639 winning percentage. Julia Fliegner led the way with 15 singles wins, with Kari Miller (11), Andrea Cerdan (10) and Nicole Hammond (10) joining her in the double-digit win club.

• Michigan head coach Ronni Bernstein, who enters her 15th season in Ann Arbor, is poised to become the winningest coach in program history this season. She has 285 wins at Michigan, trailing Bitsy Ritt's record of 288 victories from 1985-2006. In addition, Bernstein can become the first coach to win 300 matches at Michigan with 15 wins this season.

• U-M is 33-5 all-time against Western Michigan but has not faced the Broncos since a 7-0 win on March 12, 2015.

• The Wolverines have never faced Oakland in a dual match.

• After going 7-1 at the Varsity Tennis Center last season, U-M is now 219-50 all-time at the VTC (.814 winning percentage).

• After this weekend's doubleheader, Michigan will head to Atlanta for the second straight season to participate in the ITA Kick-Off. U-M will face Ole Miss in the first round and either host Georgia Tech or Old Dominion in the second.

Up Next

Friday, Jan. 28 -- vs. Ole Miss - ITA Kick-Off (Atlanta, Ga.), 1 p.m.