Week #14: Maize & Blue to Head to B1G Tourney
4/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2016
» Michigan enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed after tying for second in the Big Ten with Northwestern. Both teams finished with a 10-1 record, while Ohio State is the No. 1 seed following an 11-0 conference season.
» Michigan will open the tournament against Purdue in the quarterfinals on Friday (April 29). It is the fourth time in the last five seasons that Michigan and Purdue are facing each other in tournament action.
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THIS WEEK
Friday, April 29 -- vs. Purdue - Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (East Lansing, Mich.), 2 p.m.
With a win ...
Saturday, April 30 -- vs. Northwestern/Indiana/Michigan State - Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (East Lansing, Mich.), 2 p.m.
With another win ...
Sunday, May 1 -- Big Ten Tournament Championship (East Lansing, Mich.), Noon
The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (18-5) looks to defend its 2015 title at this weekend's Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing. U-M is the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed Purdue on Friday (April 29) in quarterfinal action at 2 p.m.
NCAA RULES
The NCAA has adapted new rules this year for tennis, which will be in effect all year long. Doubles action will begin immediately with no warmup. In addition, each doubles match will be one set to six, with a tiebreaker occurring at 6-all. The team that wins two-of-three matches will secure the doubles point. Following a five-minute intermission, singles action will begin with each match worth one point towards the team score. Singles matches in progress when the dual match is clinched will be abandoned in postseason play. There will be no-ad scoring in both singles and doubles action.
WEATHER POLICY
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 miles per hour.
WOLVERINE BITES
• The Wolverines look to defend their 2015 Big Ten Tournament title this week at the conference tournament, which is hosted by Michigan State. U-M has made 11 straight finals appearances at the Big Ten Tournament.
• Michigan is in search of its third Big Ten Tournament title in school history. U-M won last season's tournament with a 4-0 win over Ohio State in the championship match. The Wolverines also took home the 1997 title.
• Michigan kicks off the Big Ten Tournament against No. 6 seed Purdue, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons that U-M and Purdue have faced each other in the tournament. The last time these two schools faced each other in the tournament was in 2014, where Michigan rallied from dropping the doubles point for a 4-1 win.
• The Wolverines came back for a 5-2 win against Purdue earlier this season (March 27) at the Varsity Tennis Center. U-M dropped the doubles point but got singles wins from Ronit Yurovsky, Brienne Minor, Kate Fahey, Alex Najarian and Mira Ruder-Hook in the victory.
• With a win on Friday (April 29), Michigan could face Northwestern, Indiana or Michigan State in the semifinals on Saturday (April 30).
• U-M finished tied for second in the Big Ten after going 10-1 in conference place. Michigan tied with Northwestern for second place but enters the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed since NU won the tiebreaker (head-to-head match result).
• Michigan comes in at No. 11 in this week's team rankings after splitting a pair of matches last weekend. U-M has three wins over teams currently in the top 10 -- No. 3 North Carolina, No. 7 Miami and No. 9 Duke.
• Freshman Kate Fahey is the owner of Michigan's longest singles winning streak, winning her last 15 matches. Fahey is 19-1 in dual matches, with her only loss coming to No. 46 Kennedy Shaffer of Georgia on Feb. 6. On the season, she is second on the team in wins with 29.
• Senior Ronit Yurovsky has moved into the top five of singles wins at Michigan. Yurovsky has 112 wins in her four years in the Maize and Blue, putting her in a tie for third place with Brooke Bolender. Emina Bektas (2012-15) holds the Michigan record with 129. All five of Michigan's top singles winners -- Bektas, Sarah Lee (125), Bolender (112), Denise Muresan (111) and Yurovsky -- have been four-year players for head coach Ronni Bernstein.
• Michigan is 15-0 this season when winning the doubles point, with wins coming against San Francisco, Kentucky, Miami, LSU, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Baylor, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa and Illinois. In each of its five losses, Michigan has lost the doubles point.
• Michigan features three ranked singles players. Senior Ronit Yurovsky comes in at No. 16, freshman Brienne Minor is No. 18 and freshman Kate Fahey is No. 65 in the latest rankings released on April 26.
• U-M has a pair of ranked doubles teams in No. 16-ranked Brienne Minor and Mira Ruder-Hook and No. 48 Minor and Kate Fahey. The pair of Ruder-Hook and Minor has defeated the No. 1-ranked doubles team twice, coming against No. 23 Kentucky and No. 2 North Carolina.
• Freshman Brienne Minor leads the Wolverines in wins this season with 31, as the freshman holds a 31-8 overall record. In dual matches, she is 1-0 at No. 1, 9-5 at No. 2 and 5-0 at No. 3. The freshman record for wins is 32, shared by Ronit Yurovsky, Emina Bektas and Sarah Lee.
UP NEXT
Fri-Sun, May 13-15 -- NCAA First and Second Rounds (Campus Sites)
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
