Michigan
California
Michigan to Head to Seattle for ITA Indoors
2/7/2024 2:13:00 PM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (5-1) heads to Seattle, Wash., for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Feb. 9-12), hosted by the University of Washington at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and the Seattle Tennis Club. U-M earned the No. 4 seed and will face No. 15-ranked California (2-0) in the first round on Friday (Feb. 9) at 9 a.m. PST.
Notes
• The Wolverines are making their 12th ITA National Team Indoor Championship appearance in the last 15 seasons. This marks back-to-back years for the Wolverines at the national event. It is the third time the national event is being held in Seattle (2019, 2023).
• All of Michigan's trips to the national event have come in the past 15 years since the ITA went to the Kick-Off format with four-team qualifying sites. U-M's first trip to the event came in 2010 after winning the ITA Kick-Off at Arkansas. This season, Michigan defeated Utah and Arkansas at the Varsity Tennis Center to punch its ticket to Seattle.
• The Wolverines are 17-16 all-time at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship and have won at least one match in each appearance. U-M went 2-1 in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2023. U-M got wins over Virginia and Ohio State at last year's event, falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion North Carolina.
• Each team is guaranteed three matches at the tournament. Joining No. 5 U-M at the event are No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 7 NC State, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Virginia, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 14 Auburn, No. 15 Cal, No. 16 USC and No. 21 Washington.
• Michigan has won five straight matches after dropping its season opener at Oklahoma State (Jan. 19). U-M already has three wins over teams currently ranked in the top 20 -- a 4-2 win over No. 11 Virginia (Feb. 3), a 4-3 win at No. 18 Oklahoma (Jan. 21) and a 4-1 win over No. 8 Florida last time out (Feb. 6).
• U-M grabbed the No. 4 seed for the tournament and will begin play on Friday (Feb. 9) against No. 15 Cal (2-0). Michigan and Cal are meeting for the third straight season after U-M recorded a win at home during 2022 and a win at Berkeley in 2023. Michigan now leads the series 2-1, with this match marking the second time the teams are squaring off at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships (2013). Cal head coach Amanda Augustus was the Michigan head coach for a season (2006-07) before returning to her alma mater to coach.
• The Wolverines are 5-0 this season when securing the doubles point. Kari Miller and Jaedan Brown have played together in all six matches at the No. 1 spot, going 3-2. Over the last four matches, Michigan has used the same pairs at No. 2 and No. 3 to much success. Lily Jones and Anna Ross are 3-1 at No. 2, with the freshman duo of Piper Charney and Reese Miller sporting a perfect 4-0 record at No. 3. The freshmen clinched the doubles point in Michigan's win over No. 8 Florida (Feb. 6), winning in a tiebreak as the final match on court.
• Michigan has four ranked singles players in the latest ITA individual rankings released on Feb. 7. Kari Miller moved up one spot to No. 9, with Fliegner vaulting up to No. 18. Jones comes in at No. 57 and Gala Mesochoritou is No. 124. On the doubles front, Brown and Kari Miller moved up to No. 5 from No. 8 following the fall season.
• After this weekend, Michigan returns to the Varsity Tennis Center for a three-match homestand, welcoming No. 16 USC (Feb. 18), No. 7 NC State (Feb. 22) and Columbia (Feb. 23) before a spring break trip to Hawaii.
Players Mentioned
