Michigan
Illinois State
Michigan to Host NCAA Tourney, First Host Illinois State
4/29/2026 10:52:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (19-6) will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend (May 2-3) at the Varsity Tennis Center, welcoming Toledo (13-8), Illinois State (18-6) and No. 17 Florida (16-7). First up for Michigan is a match against Illinois State on Saturday (May 2) at 1 p.m. Admission is free to all matches at the VTC.
Notes
• Admission is free to all matches at the VTC. Matches shall be played outdoors unless the projected weather forecast, for a minimum of two hours out of a four-hour time period from the start of the match, according to www.weather.com, is a high of less than 50 degrees or sustained winds (not including wind gusts) of more than 20 mph.
• Michigan is coming off its fourth Big Ten Tournament title in the last five seasons, knocking off No. 5 Ohio State 4-2 in Columbus on Sunday (April 26). U-M has won tournament titles in 1997, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026. Lily Jones was named the Most Outstanding Player at the event, with Piper Charney grabbing a spot on the all-tournament team.
• U-M is hosting the first and second rounds for the 11th time since 2010 and for the third straight season. The Wolverines have advanced to the third round in each of their previous 10 hosting opportunities.
• Michigan is making its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and is coming off the first Final Four appearance in program history. U-M is 42-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Joining Michigan at the Varsity Tennis Center this weekend are Toledo (13-8), Illinois State (18-6) and No. 17 Florida (16-7). Michigan will face Illinois State on Saturday (May 2) at 1 p.m., with Florida and Toledo squaring off at 10 a.m. The winners will meet on Sunday (May 3) at 1 p.m.
• U-M and Illinois State are meeting for just the second time in program history, with U-M taking a 9-0 victory during the 1989-90 season. The Redbirds punched their sixth ticket to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Championship behind a 4-0 win over Drake.
• The Wolverines are the No. 12 seed for the NCAA Tournament, winning 18 of their last 20 matches after starting the season at 1-4. With one more win, Michigan will reach the 20-win mark for the 16th time in program history.
• Michigan won its fourth straight Big Ten championship this season, going 12-1 in conference play and sharing the title with Ohio State and USC. Head coach Ronni Bernstein is now tied for first in Big Ten women's tennis history with 13 Big Ten championships. She now has a combined 20 Big Ten titles during her time in Ann Arbor, winning seven Big Ten Tournament titles -- all since 2015.
• U-M is 15-1 when winning the doubles point and 4-5 without it. Michigan most recently took a 4-1 win over Maryland in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament (April 25) without the match's first point.
• Jones became the first Wolverine to reach the 30-win mark in singles this year after recording a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 111 Oliwia Orlinska of Maryland in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament (April 25). She is 31-9 on the season, reaching 30 wins for the second straight season. She picked up the 100th win of her career during the NCAA Singles Championship and is now solo fifth all-time at Michigan with 115 singles wins.
• Michigan has a trio of ranked singles players in Charney (No. 13), Jones (No. 36) and Reese Miller (No. 90). Charney and Jones each earned ITA All-America honors in singles this past fall by reaching the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship.
• Michigan has four players who have reached the 20-win mark on the singles court in Jones (31), Miller (29), Emily Sartz-Lunde (27) and Charney (23).
• Bernstein is in her 19th season as the head coach, holding a 567-202 overall coaching record. She has led Michigan to 13 Big Ten championships and seven Big Ten tournament titles.
• The winner of this regional will advance to face the winner of the Chapel Hill regional, featuring No. 5 seed North Carolina, Charleston Southern, Maryland and South Carolina.
Players Mentioned
