Michigan Kicks Off Four-Match Homestand with Illinois, Northwestern

» Michigan has played 13 of its last 14 matches on the road and returns home to the Varsity Tennis Center this weekend to kick off a four-match homestand.
» U-M has won six straight matches and sits atop the Big Ten standings with Northwestern. Both teams sport a 6-0 mark.
» Head coach Ronni Bernstein is two wins away from 400 career victories. In her 11 seasons at Michigan, Bernstein is 233-69 after arriving with 165 wins at Florida International.

THIS WEEK
Saturday, April 7 -- vs. No. 11 Illinois (Varsity Tennis Center), noon | Live scoring/video
Sunday, April 8 -- vs. No. 13 Northwestern (Varsity Tennis Center), noon | Live scoring/video

Social Media: Facebook l Twitter

The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (10-8, 6-0 B1G) kicks off a four-match homestand this weekend, hosting No. 11 Illinois (16-2, 5-1 B1G) on Saturday (April 7) and No. 13 Northwestern (13-4, 6-0 B1G) on Sunday (April 8). Both matches start at noon and admission is free. The first 100 fans to Sunday's match will receive a Nike hat.

WOLVERINE BITES

• Michigan (10-8, 6-0 B1G) is back in the top 25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings for the first time since the Feb. 27 edition of the rankings, coming in at No. 24. U-M has won its last six matches and is tied atop the Big Ten standings with Northwestern at 6-0.

• The Wolverines are kicking off a four-match homestand this weekend, playing four of their last five matches at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan is 4-1 at the VTC this season. The Maize and Blue has spent the majority of the last two months on the road, playing 11 straight and 13 of 14 matches away from Ann Arbor.

• Michigan is taking on a pair of ranked opponents this weekend in No. 11 Illinois and No. 13 Northwestern. This weekend will go a long way in determining the Big Ten champion as U-M and NU are each 6-0, with Illinois right behind at 5-1. Northwestern beat Illinois earlier this season to account for the Illini's only conference loss.

• Junior Kate Fahey is 21-6 on the season, moving her career record to 88-21 (.807). She is two wins away from becoming the 11th Wolverine in school history to reach 90 career wins, ranking 12th all-time in singles wins. Fahey is the only player in program history to feature a winning percentage of at least .800.

• U-M has turned it up since Big Ten action began, winning all six conference matches. The Wolverines have hit their stride in singles since starting conference action, compiling a 30-6 record. Sophomore Chiara Lommer leads the way with a 6-0 record, with classmate Lera Patiuk joining her with a perfect record at 2-0. Kate Fahey, Mira Ruder-Hook and Brienne Minor are each 5-1, with freshmen Alyvia Jones (4-2) and Bella Lorenzini (3-1) adding to the win total.

• Head coach Ronni Bernstein is closing in on career victory No. 400, entering this weekend with 398 victories. Bernstein, who is in her 11th season at Michigan, is 233-69 (.772) in Ann Arbor.

• As part of Black History Month, junior Brienne Minor was profiled by The Tennis Channel after winning last year's singles NCAA title. Watch the video here.

• In the latest (April 3) singles rankings, Kate Fahey comes in at No. 29 and Chiara Lommer is at No. 95. The doubles pair of Brienne Minor and Mira Ruder-Hook is in the doubles rankings for the fourth straight week, earning a No. 67 ranking.

• No. 11 Illinois (16-2, 5-1 B1G) has only lost to Northwestern and North Carolina, entering Saturday's (April 7) match on a six-match win streak. The Illini feature a ranked singles player in No. 83 Asuka Kawai and the No. 38-ranked doubles team of Daniela Pedraza Novak and Alexandra Belaya. Michigan has won the last 15 matches against Illinois and leads the all-time series, 32-11, vs. the Illini.

• No. 13 Northwestern (13-4, 6-0 B1G) is coming off a weekend sweep of Rutgers and Maryland, only dropping one point between the two opponents. The Wildcats have a trio of ranked singles players in No. 49 Erin Larner, No. 70 Maddie Lipp and No. 105 Lee Or. Lipp and Larner make up the No. 4-ranked doubles team, with Or and Alex Chatt coming in at No. 28. NU leads the all-time series against Michigan, 49-16, but the Wolverines have won the last three matches.

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.