Week #16: U-M to Conclude Season with Individual Tourneys
5/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 23, 2017
» Michigan will send three participants to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor will each compete in the singles tournament, with Fahey teaming up with Alex Najarian in the doubles tournament.
» Minor is making her second consecutive appearance in the singles tournament, with Fahey making her individual debut. It is the second time around for Najarian in the doubles draw after competing with Emina Bektas in the 2015 edition.
» Fahey is up to 33 singles wins on the season, putting her in eighth on the single-season list. She is one of five Wolverines with multiple 30-win seasons.
THIS WEEK
NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
Wed-Mon., May 24-29 -- Singles Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Thu-Mon., May 25-29 -- Doubles Championship (Athens, Ga.)
The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team will conclude the season with sophomore Kate Fahey, sophomore Brienne Minor and junior Alex Najarian competing in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships this week (Wed-Mon., May 24-29) at the University of Georgia. Fahey and Minor will each compete in the singles tournament, with Fahey teaming up with Najarian in the doubles tournament.
NCAA RULES
All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches. In doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.
• Michigan will send three participants to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Sophomores Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor will participate in the singles tournament. Fahey will join with junior Alex Najarian in the doubles tournament.
• The singles tournament will begin on May 24 and run through May 29. The doubles tournament will begin on May 25 and go through May 29.
• Brienne Minor is making her second straight NCAA Singles appearance. She will face Miami's Sinead Lohan in the first round. Minor faced off against Lohan, currently ranked No. 21, in last year's NCAA Singles Tournament, with Lohan coming away with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Minor, who is 26-6 on the year, is the seventh Wolverine to earn multiple singles berths to the NCAA Tournament.
• Kate Fahey is making her first singles appearance and will face off against No. 35 Jessie Aney of North Carolina. The two have not faced each other this season, but Fahey defeated Aney (6-4, 6-4) during Michigan's 5-2 win over North Carolina during the 2015-16 season. Fahey is currently ranked No. 26 and is 33-6 in singles this season after going 21-2 during dual matches at the top two spots.
• Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian earned the Big Ten's automatic berth into the doubles championship. Najarian is competing in doubles for the second time after teaming with Emina Bektas in the 2015 tournament. The duo will face No. 20 Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan of Florida when the tournament begins on Thursday (May 25). The two teams squared off against each other during the regular season (Feb. 10), with Fahey and Najarian coming away with a 7-6 (4) win at the No. 1 spot to clinch the doubles point against the Gators.
• Kate Fahey has won 13 straight singles matches, running her singles record on the season to 33-6. Her 33 wins up her total from her freshman season (31), making her one of five Wolverines to have multiple 30-win seasons, joining Emina Bektas (3), Sarah Lee (3), Ronit Yurovsky (2) and Denise Muresan (2) on that list. She is now tied for eighth on the single-season wins list.
• Kate Fahey, Brienne Minor and Alex Najarian each picked up All-Big Ten honors after combining to go 24-2 in singles action at the top three spots during conference play. [ Release ]
• In the last ITA rankings (May 4), junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey stayed at No. 9 for the third straight week. Najarian and Fahey are 27-5 overall, with a 16-4 mark at No. 1 during dual matches. The two were ranked as the nation's No. 1 doubles team earlier this season.
• Michigan saw its season come to an end in the Sweet 16, falling to No. 7 seed Stanford (4-1). Kate Fahey put Michigan's lone point on the board with a three-set win at No. 1. U-M finished the season with a 23-6 record, the fourth-most wins in school history.
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
