Wolverines Set to Compete at ITA Kick-Off

Friday, January 24

Champaign, Ill.

2:00 PM CT

Michigan

Texas Tech

1/22/2020 4:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Kristy McNeil

THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., Jan. 24-25 -- at ITA Kick-Off (Champaign, Ill.)
Friday, Jan. 24 -- vs. Texas Tech, 2 p.m. CST
Live Scoring/Video
Saturday, Jan. 25-- vs. Ole Miss or Illinois, 2 or 6 p.m. CST
Live Scoring/Video

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The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team (2-1) will head to Champaign, Illinois, on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25) to compete at the ITA Kick-Off. The event will be hosted by No. 12 Illinois (0-0) and will include Texas Tech (3-0) and Ole Miss (4-0) with a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on the line.

Michigan will face Texas Tech on Friday (Jan. 24) at 2 p.m. CST, then will square off with either Ole Miss or Illinois on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 2 or 6 p.m. Both matches will take place at the Atkins Tennis Center.

About the ITA Kick-Off Weekend

The No. 1 team at each site will face the No. 4 team, while the No. 2 team will face the No. 3 team. Two matches are guaranteed -- the winners/losers play the following day. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 14-17, to be hosted by University of Wisconsin.

Ranked Singles Players

No. 11 -- Alex Brown, Illinois
No. 48 -- Siphosothando Montsi, Illinois
No. 61 -- Zeke Clark, Illinois
No. 69 -- Ilgiz Valiev, Texas Tech
No. 78 -- Andrew Fenty, Michigan
No. 94 -- Ondrej Styler, Michigan

Ranked Doubles Teams

No. 5 -- Andrew Fenty/Mattias Siimar, Michigan
No. 26 -- Alex Brown/Aleksandar Kovacevis, Illinois

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan is ranked No. 20 in the latest Oracle ITA Division I rankings released Tuesday (Jan. 21).
• The Wolverines opened the season with a 4-3 loss to then-No. 23-ranked North Carolina State before sweeping Pac-12 teams Washington and Oregon on the road.
• Michigan has the No. 5-ranked doubles team in Andrew Fenty and Mattias Siimar. The duo is off to a 3-0 start this spring after a 12-2 fall campaign.
• No. 78-ranked Fenty was named the season's first men's tennis Big Ten Athlete of the Week. Fenty went 5-1 during the opening week, with a 3-0 record at No. 1 doubles including two wins over ranked opponents, and a 2-1 record at No. 1 singles highlighted by a win over No. 14-ranked Joshua Charlton of Oregon.
• No. 94-ranked Ondrej Styler went 2-1 this week at No. 2 singles. After losing his season-opening match, he rebounded with back-to-back straight-sets victories. At No. 2 doubles, he and Connor Johnston are 3-0 this spring.
• Michigan is looking for its first ITA National Team Indoor Championship berth since the 2008-09 season.
• Michigan is tied, 1-1, with Texas Tech all-time with the last meeting resulting in a 4-3 Red Raiders victory in 2012. The Wolverines took the first meeting, 4-2, in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Ann Arbor.
• The first singles and doubles rankings of the spring season will be announced by the ITA on Feb. 5.