Michigan
Illinois
Michigan to Get Early Big Ten Test Saturday at Illinois
2/19/2025 12:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team (5-4) gets its first taste of Big Ten action on Saturday (Feb. 22) when it takes on the No. 20-ranked University of Illinois (4-2) in a non-conference match at 6 p.m. CT.
Notes
• Michigan is No. 12 in the first ITA computerized rankings that came out on Thursday (Feb 20). Michigan is coming off the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, where the Wolverines went 1-2.
• Out of the nine opponents Michigan has faced this year, six have been in the top 25. The Wolverines are 2-4 in those matches as they get battled-tested heading into conference play.
• The Wolverines are 23-15 in dual singles matches this season, with winning records at No. 1, 2 and 4. Benjamin Kittay has the most wins at 6-3, going 3-2 at No. 1 and 3-1 at No. 2. Will Cooksey follows with a 5-2 mark and has the best singles winning percentage on the team at 72 percent, 13-5 overall.
• After Cooksey's win on Sunday over SMU's Jerry Barton he reached 50 career singles wins. He is just six wins away from his season best, to surpass his 18 wins from the 2023-24 season.
• Patorn Hanchaikul is one win away from his 40th career singles win, at 39-23. He is currently ranked No. 113 in the ITA singles rankings, along with Kittay at No. 87 and Gavin Young at No. 109.
• Michigan has used eight different doubles combinations this spring. Kittay and Hanchaikul have the most victories at 4-2. Bjorn Swenson and Mert Oral have also been a force going 3-0 at No. 3. The NCAA runners-up in doubles from the fall, Young and Kittay have not played yet together this spring.
• Alex Cairo picked up his first career win over a ranked opponent in doubles last Friday against Virginia. Playing with Young, the pair posted a 7-6 (4) win over No. 75-ranked Dietrich and Dahlberg. Cairo has had a strong doubles showing this year, including a seven-match win streak with partner Cooksey.
• Illinois is 0-2 against the two ranked opponents it has faced this season. The Illini were at the same ITA Kick-Off as Michigan but fell to No. 14 Tennessee in the opening round 4-2 before defeating Auburn 4-2. The Wolverines went 2-0 to win that Kick-Off in Knoxville.
• The Illini ranked singles players include Kenta Miyoshi (No. 13), William Mroz (No. 42) and Tyler Bowers (No. 79). They do not have any ranked doubles pairs.
Players Mentioned
