U-M to Take on Penn State, No. 14 Ohio State with Eyes on B1G Division Title

THIS WEEK
Friday, April 16 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 4 p.m.
Live Scoring
Sunday, April 18 -- at #14 Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), Noon
Live Scoring | Live Video

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The final regular-season weekend, Friday and Sunday (April 16-18), holds plenty of importance for the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team (13-2, 13-1 Big Ten) with the Big Ten East Division title to be decided between the Wolverines and rival No. 14 Ohio State, who will battle on Sunday (April 18) at noon in Columbus. Michigan heads into the weekend with an 8-0 division record, with Ohio State at 7-1. However, Michigan cannot look past Penn State (6-8, 6-8 Big Ten), its Friday (April 16) opponent. First serve in State College, Pa., is set for 4 p.m.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan is 13-2 overall on the season and has won its last five matches, including four straight by shutout -- a feat that had not been completed by the program since 1987.
• The Wolverines are ranked No. 19 in the Oracle/ITA coaches poll, No. 7 in the Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25 poll and No. 10 in the Cracked Racquets rankings.
• With an 8-0 record in the Big Ten East division, Michigan can clinch the outright title by winning both matches this weekend, and can clinch a share by winning one. The top two teams in each Division will receive a bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Nick Beaty became the third Wolverine to earn Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week, capturing the honor on Tuesday (April 13). He played and won his first match at No. 2 singles, won at No. 3 and had a win at No. 2 doubles while leading in No. 1 doubles before the match was called. Patrick Maloney earned the conference honor on April 6, and Ondrej Styler did on March 16.
• Beaty has one of the best singles win percentages on the team at 85 percent with a 17-3 overall record and is 11-1 in dual play. Maloney is 9-1 for a win percentage of .900.
• Andrew Fenty is 11-2 in Big Ten play, including a 9-2 mark at No. 1 singles.
• Four players have played at No. 2 singles this season with Ondrej Styler going 6-3 at the position.
• Jacob Bickersteth, Nino Ehrenschneider and Connor Johnston are all options at Nos. 4-6 singles.
• Mattias Siimar and Andrew Fenty are ranked in No. 36 in doubles with an 11-3 record, including a 6-3 mark in B1G play.
• A variety of lineups could follow at Nos. 2 and 3 with the Wolverines owning an 8-6 mark at No. 2 and an 8-5 record at No. 3.

Who's Who

Ranked Singles Players
No. 91 -- John McNally, OSU
No. 117 -- Cannon Kingsley, OSU

Ranked Doubles Teams
No. 36 -- Andrew Fenty/Mattias Siimar, Michigan
No. 61 -- James Trotter/Justin Boulais, OSU
No. 73 -- Robert Cash/John McNally, OSU

Series Histories

Michigan leads 29-8 in the all-time series against Penn State, including a a 5-1 record over its last six meetings with the Nittany Lions. PSU and U-M met earlier this season, a 6-1 Wolverine win on March 13 at the Varsity Tennis Center. Penn State's last win over Michigan came in 2019.

• Michigan leads 73-41-2 in the all-time series against Ohio State, and in the last meeting between the teams (March 14), the Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes 4-3 -- U-M's first win over OSU in 20 years.

About the Opponents

Penn State is 6-8 overall and has split nearly every weekend this season. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions lost at Indiana before defeating Purdue. Though PSU has yet to win at No. 1 doubles, Christos Antonopoulo and Christian Lakoseljac have won their last four matches at No. 2. Sam Bossem and Miko Eala are 4-3 at No. 3 doubles. Eala and Tim Ruetzel have the best singles records on the team (60 percent).

Ohio State has a 16-2 overall record and is 13-1 in the Big Ten, with its only losses coming to Michigan and Virginia. The Buckeyes have lost the doubles point just three times with Robert Cash and John McNally holding a 10-3 dual mark at No. 1. Justin Boulais and JJ Tracy took No. 3 doubles against Michigan last month, with the Wolverines winning at No. 1 and 2. All scores were by 6-4. Cannon Kingsley is undefeated this season in singles at 23-0. McNally is 7-2 at No. 1 and 6-1 at No. 2. James Trotter owns a 9-1 mark at No. 3, Kyle Seelig is 7-2 at No. 4, JJ Tracy is 13-0 at No. 5 and Cash is 9-2 at No. 6. They split singles with Michigan with Styler, Maloney and Siimar winning at 2-3-4.

Up Next

Thu-Sun., April 29-May 2 -- at Big Ten Tournament (Lincoln, Neb.)