Michigan
Ball State
Michigan to Open Dual Season Hosting Ball State
1/9/2025 1:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team (0-0) begins its spring season on Saturday (Jan. 11), hosting Ball State (0-0) at 5 p.m. inside the Varsity Tennis Center.
Notes
• Michigan is ranked No. 25 in the ITA preseason poll that was released on Monday afternoon (Jan. 6). That ranking also was where the Wolverines finished in the final poll of the 2023-24 season.
• Last season, the Wolverines posted a 17-13 dual-match record, finishing second in the Big Ten regular season with an 8-1 mark and took second in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan made its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round.
• Michigan and Ball State have met on 13 previous occasions with the Wolverines winning all 13 matches. Saturday's matchup will be the first between the two programs since 2009.
• Gavin Young and Benjamin Kittay reached the NCAA doubles national championship in the fall. The pair fell in a third-set 10-point tiebreaker to the champions from TCU. Young and Kittay are the first Wolverines duo to reach NCAA runner-up status in doubles and the pair earned All-America honors.
• The Wolverines have three new additions to the team since last spring in transfer Kittay, freshman Kedar Desai and freshman Max Dahlin, who joins the team mid-year.
• Returning veterans include Alex Cairo, Will Cooksey, Patorn Hanchaikul, Mert Oral, Nicholas Steiglehner, Bjorn Swenson aan Young. All are options to fill the places of Jacob Bickersteth, who played primarily at No. 2 singles last year and finished his singles career with a 72-40 mark, as well as Nino Ehrenschneider, who went 40-21 in his Michigan singles career. In doubles, Kittay will take the place of Bickersteth in the No. 1 pairing with Young.
• Last year, Michigan went 12-1 when it won the doubles point. At No. 2 and 3 doubles, Michigan has options, including the duo of Cooksey and Cairo, who put together a 6-1 record during the fall.
• Michigan will play 10 matches at home this season. Non-conference opponents include NC State, Harvard and Western Michigan before the Big Ten season begins. Oregon and Washington will visit Ann Arbor in their Big Ten debuts and will host matches against Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois and Northwestern.
Players Mentioned
