Week #14: U-M to Host NCAA Regional
5/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 9, 2017
» Michigan, the No. 10 seed, will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Varsity Tennis Center and be joined by Kentucky, Dartmouth and Youngstown State.
» U-M is looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
» The Wolverines are making their 16th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
THIS WEEK
NCAA Regional
Friday, May 12 -- vs. Youngstown State - NCAA First Round (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
With a win ...
Saturday, May 13 -- vs. Kentucky or Dartmouth - NCAA Second Round (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
• Tournament Central | Live Scoring/Live Video*
* no video if played outdoors // Tickets sold at VTC
The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (21-4) will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend (Fri-Sat., May 12-13) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Joining U-M are No. 17-ranked Kentucky (16-8), Dartmouth (17-4) and Youngstown State (16-8). The winner of the regional will advance to the NCAA Sweet 16, with the remainder of the tournament being hosted by the University of Georgia.
NCAA RULES
Each team match will be a contest for the best of seven team points. Doubles action will begin immediately with no warmup, so fans are encouraged to arrive on time for matches. 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. There will be no-ad scoring in both singles and doubles action. Matches in progress when the team match is clinched will be abandoned in postseason play. In addition, there is to be no noise made between first and second serves this season as part of new ITA sportsmanship guidelines.
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.
• Michigan is the No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season after going 21-5 during the regular season. U-M is hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
• Joining the Wolverines at the VTC for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament are No. 17 Kentucky (16-8), Dartmouth (17-4) and Youngstown State (16-8). Kentucky is making its third straight appearance at the Ann Arbor NCAA Regional. UK lost to DePaul, 4-1, in the first round in 2015 and to Michigan, 4-1, in the 2016 second round.
• The Wolverines are making their 19th overall and 16th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. U-M is 24-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Sweet 16 six times. The Maize and Blue made its deepest run in school history last season, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Stanford. Michigan's six Sweet 16 appearances have come in the last seven seasons -- 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 -- under 10th-year head coach Ronni Bernstein.
• U-M has advanced out of its home regional in each of the previous six years of hosting. The remainder of this year's tournament is being hosted by the University of Georgia.
• U-M remained in the top 10 of the ITA rankings this week, staying at No. 10 after a 2-1 mark at the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan has been in the top 10 since Feb. 15. There will not be any new rankings released until the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan secured its seventh Big Ten championship in the last eight years by sweeping its final weekend of the regular season. U-M tied Ohio State with an 11-0 record in the Big Ten to finish atop the standings. The Maize and Blue now has eight Big Ten titles in school history (1997, 2010-15, 2017).
• Kate Fahey has won 11 straight singles matches, running her singles record on the season to 31-6. Her 31 wins match her total from her freshman season, making her one of five Wolverines to have multiple 30-win seasons, joining Emina Bektas, Sarah Lee, Ronit Yurovsky and Denise Muresan on that list.
• No. 17 Kentucky (16-8) is headed to Ann Arbor for the third straight postseason after completing its first seven-win SEC season since 2006. UK features the No. 6-ranked doubles team in Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi, with Sutjiadi coming in at No. 22 and Akvilė Para?inskaitė ranking No. 103 on the singles side. U-M is 6-8 all-time against Kentucky but has won three straight against the Wildcats.
• Dartmouth (17-4) is making its second NCAA appearance in the last three seasons following a 5-2 record in Ivy League action. The Big Green won the Ivy tiebreaker between Harvard and Cornell, winning its first-ever automatic bid. UK and Dartmouth will meet for the second time at the VTC as the two came for the 2016 ITA Kick-Off. Michigan has never faced Dartmouth, should the two teams meet in the second round.
• Youngstown State (16-8) punched its NCAA ticket by winning the Horizon League Championship title following a 4-2 win over Wright State at the Varsity Tennis Center (April 30). The Penguins are making their fourth straight NCAA appearance. It will be the first-ever meeting between U-M and YSU.
• 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 newest ITA rankings (May 4), junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey stayed at No. 9 for the third straight week. Najarian and Fahey are 26-4 overall, with a 15-3 mark at No. 1 during dual matches. The two were ranked as the nation's No. 1 doubles team earlier this season and will compete in the NCAA Doubles Championship later this month.
• On the singles side, Michigan's sophomore class of Brienne Minor (No. 24) and Kate Fahey (No. 26) are the lone Wolverines ranked. Both players received berths to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship.
• The top of Michigan's singles lineup is getting it done, going 37-7 at the top two spots. Kate Fahey is 12-1 at No. 1 and 7-1 No. 2, with Brienne Minor holding a 6-3 mark at No. 1 and a 12-2 record at No. 2.
• Michigan has won the doubles point in 17 matches this season, going 15-2 when winning the first point of the match. U-M is 6-3 when failing to secure the doubles point.
• Following a 2-1 mark at the Big Ten Tournament, U-M pushed its record this season to 21-5. It is the eighth straight 20-win season for the Wolverines and 10th in program history. The school record for wins in a season is 26, set during the 2015 season.
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
