Michigan Stays on the Road for Virginia, No. 5 North Carolina

» Michigan will face a pair of ACC schools this weekend, marking the third straight weekend that the Wolverines are playing an ACC opponent. U-M has already faced Duke and Georgia Tech this season.
» Kate Fahey (No. 1; 4-0) and Chiara Lommer (No. 2; 5-0) have combined to go 9-0 at the top two spots in singles action.
» Michigan is in the midst of playing 11 straight matches away from the Varsity Tennis Center. This weekend marks matches Nos. 4 and 5 of that stretch.

THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 16 -- at Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.), 5 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18 -- at North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 11 a.m.

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Virginia Live Stats/Video | North Carolina Live Stats

The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (4-3) continues its road swing this weekend, playing at Virginia (3-2) on Friday (Feb. 16) and at No. 5 North Carolina (10-0) on Sunday (Feb. 18).

WOLVERINE BITES

• Michigan went 1-2 at last weekend's ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Feb. 9-11), falling to No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 12 Auburn before wrapping up the event with a shutout of Wisconsin. The Wolverines and Badgers were not slated to face each other during the conference season, playing that match as a non-conference affair. Michigan has won at least one match in each of its nine appearances at the national event.

• The Wolverines have been successful at the top of the lineup this season, with junior Kate Fahey and sophomore Chiara Lommer combining for a 9-0 mark at the top two spots in dual matches. Fahey has played all seven matches at No. 1, going 4-0 for a 13-5 overall record. Lommer, who went 3-0 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, has a 5-0 record in dual matches at No. 2 and is 19-5 overall.

• Junior Brienne Minor made her return to the singles lineup over the weekend, playing at No. 3 for the Wolverines. Minor, the 2017 NCAA Singles Champion, missed the fall season after undergoing a knee procedure. It was her first singles action since competing at the US Open at the end of August. She has also played in two doubles matches with senior Mira Ruder-Hook, with the pair going 1-1.

• Michigan has won the doubles point four times this season, going 3-1 when securing the match's first point. The Wolverines are 1-2 when not winning the doubles point, rallying for a 4-1 win over Tulsa after falling behind, 1-0. U-M has used seven different doubles combinations since dual-match play began, with senior Alex Najarian and Kate Fahey featuring a 3-0 record at the top spot. The pair spent the fall season as the No. 1-ranked doubles duo in the country.

• This weekend marks the third straight weekend that the Wolverines are facing an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Michigan has already squared off against Georgia Tech and Duke this season. Virginia and North Carolina are the final ACC opponents on the Maize and Blue's schedule this season.

• Virginia (3-2) is coming off a 4-3 win over Syracuse on Feb. 3 before the Cavaliers host Michigan on Friday (Feb. 16). The Cavaliers have wins over the Orange, Boston College and Nebraska on the season. Rosie Johanson comes in at No. 84 on the singles side, while teaming with Meghan Kelley to form the No. 14-ranked doubles team. Virginia leads the all-time series, 3-2, but Michigan won the last meeting between the two teams (4-3) last season.

• No. 1 North Carolina (10-0) won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Monday (Feb. 12), knocking off Pepperdine, 4-2, in the title match. The Tar Heels, who will not play again until hosting Michigan on Sunday (Feb. 18), feature five ranked singles players in No. 6 Alle Sanford, No. 10 Makenna Jones, No. 21 Jessie Aney, No. 52 Sara Daavettila and No. 78 Alexa Graham. UNC has won all 10 of its doubles points this season and has three ranked teams. UNC leads the all-time series, 8-2.

• In last week's (Feb. 7) singles rankings, Kate Fahey came in at No. 29 and Chiara Lommer was ranked No. 56. It was the first set of new rankings since the fall season completed (Nov. 15). New individual rankings will be released Feb. 20.

• Michigan is in the midst of playing 11 consecutive matches away from the Varsity Tennis Center. This weekend's matches are Nos. 4 and 5 of that stretch. U-M does not compete next weekend (Feb. 23-25) for its first weekend off since dual-match play began.

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. In addition, there is to be no noise made between first and second serves this season as part of new ITA sportsmanship guidelines.