Wolverines to Host No. 8 TCU, Western Michigan on Saturday

THIS WEEK
Saturday, Feb. 1 -- vs. No. 8 TCU (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
Live Scoring/Video
Saturday, Feb. 1 -- vs. Western Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
Live Scoring/Video

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The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team will be back in Ann Arbor to host two opponents on Saturday (Feb. 1) in a doubleheader at the Varsity Tennis Center. First up will be No. 8 TCU at noon, followed by Western Michigan at 6 p.m. Admission is free.

About the Opponents

TCU is 3-0 on the season and ranked No. 8 in the latest edition of the ITA poll (Jan. 29). The Horned Frogs posted back-to-back 4-0 wins last weekend at home versus Florida Atlantic and Arizona to win the ITA Kick-Off. Western Michigan holds a 5-2 record and has won its last three matches, with wins over Gonzaga, Illinois State and Valparaiso.

Series Histories

Michigan trails, 4-1, all-time against TCU with the teams last facing off in 2015 and first meeting in 1977. The teams met once in the NCAAs in 2000, and the Wolverines earned their lone series win in 2013. Michigan and TCU do have a more recent history as TCU's Alex Rybakov ended Andrew Fenty's 2018-19 season with a 6-3, 6-3 first-round win at the NCAA singles championship. In 2017, Connor Johnston and Jathan Malik lost to TCU's Jerry Lopez and Reese Stadler in the first round of the 2017 NCAA doubles championship.

Michigan holds a 56-8 advantage all-time against Western Michigan. The teams used to open each spring with a dual match against each other, with the Wolverines winning the last seven meetings including a 4-0 match in 2018. Western's last win was a 4-3 decision in 2003.

Who's Who

Ranked Singles Players
No. 51 -- Alastair Gray, TCU
No. 78 -- Andrew Fenty, Michigan
No. 94 -- Ondrej Styler, Michigan
No. 100 -- Luc Fomba, TCU
No. 119 -- Jacob Fearnley, TCU

Ranked Doubles Teams
No. 5 -- Andrew Fenty/Mattias Siimar, Michigan
No. 29 -- Alastair Gray/Jacob Fearnley, TCU

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan moved up three places to No. 16 in the Oracle ITA poll this week and comes in at No. 20 in the first Tennis Channel/USTA national poll of the season.
• The Wolverines are 4-1 on the season and on a four-match win streak after winning the ITA Kick-Off Regional in Champaign, Illinois, last weekend. The team defeated Texas Tech and Ole Miss by matching 4-3 scores to earn a bid to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the first time since 2009.
• Saturday's match with TCU will mark the second ranked opponent Michigan has faced this season. The Wolverines opened the season with a 4-3 loss to No. 23 NC State.
• No. 78 Andrew Fenty was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week on Jan. 21 after opening the spring with a 5-1 record going 2-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles. He is now 2-3 at No. 1 singles this season.
• Mattias Siimar and Nick Beaty remain unbeaten in singles action. Siimar began with a 3-0 record at No. 3 singles and won both his matches this past weekend at No. 2 in straight sets. Beaty is 5-0 with a 3-0 record at No. 5 and is 2-0 at No. 6.
• The No. 5-ranked doubles team Fenty and Siimar are unbeaten at 4-0 this season. Including fall matches, the duo is 16-2 this year.
• No. 94 Ondrej Styler had the deciding victory at No. 3 singles to lift Michigan to a win over Ole Miss at the ITA Kick-Off final on Saturday. Styler is 3-2 in singles this spring, going 2-1 at No. 2 and 1-1 at No. 3.

Up Next

Friday, Feb. 7 -- at Cornell (Ithaca, N.Y.), 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 9 -- at Columbia (New York, N.Y.), Noon