Tennis Begins B1G Road Swing at Michigan, Michigan State
Apr 08 | Women's Tennis
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After hosting four straight home matches, the Rutgers tennis team hits the road as the Scarlet Knights play No. 11 Michigan on Saturday, April 9, at noon and Michigan State on Sunday, April 10, at 11 a.m.
In its last time out, RU (6-11, 0-7 B1G) lost a tight 4-3 match to Penn State at the East Brunswick Racquet Club on April 3. Rutgers got off to a fast start against the Nittany Lions, clinching the doubles point for the first time in Big Ten play this year. In the No. 2 position, sophomore Chloe Lee (Albuquerque, N.M.) and junior Ksenija Tihomirova (Riga, Latvia) downed Katia Bilk and Samantha Tutelman, 6-2. Senior Lindsey Kayati (Monroeville, N.J.) and junior Farris Cunningham (Houston, Texas) also won by a 6-2 margin in the No. 3 position to secure the point.
In singles action, Kayati delivered her first conference victory of the season with a straight-set triumph over PSU's Katherine Whiteaway. Senior Gina Li (Hillsborough, N.J.) also had an intense match in the No. 1 position against Penn State's Kimberly-Ann Surin. Li managed a 7-5 win in the first set before Ann Surin managed a 7-5 result in the second set. In the third-set tiebreaker, the two went back and forth before Li pulled away with a 10-4 win.
CATCHING UP WITH THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
With her victory over Penn State, Li now leads Rutgers with 10 victories in the No. 1 position, including three in Big Ten action. Li has won three of her last four conference matches and five of her last six matches overall.
In doubles action, Tihomirova has been a member of nine doubles victories, with her most recent coming against PSU. Lee and Kayati have each contributed eight doubles wins this season.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines (13-4, 5-0 B1G) enter Saturday's match after a come-from-behind victory over No. 8 Duke on April 6 in Durham, N.C. Down 3-0 against the Blue Devils, MU rallied with wins in its final four singles matches to capture the dual, 4-3. Michigan has won six out of its last seven matches, with its lone loss in that span coming on March 12, when it fell on the road to then-No. 10 Virginia, 4-2.
Kate Fahey leads the Wolverines with 14 wins in singles play, including a perfect 4-0 record in the Big Ten. Brienne Minor and Ronit Yurovsky both have 10 wins in singles action, as the team holds an overall individual record of 57-35 during the dual season.
Ranked No. 16 nationally, the doubles team of Minor and Mira Ruder-Hook owns a 6-2 record and a 1-1 mark in the Big Ten.
The Wolverines have won six straight Big Ten Championships (2010-2015) and hold 33 straight wins in Big Ten match play. Michigan is led by head coach Ronni Bernstein, who is in her ninth season at the helm of the program.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans (9-8, 1-4 B1G) enter Sunday's match after a close 4-3 loss against Wisconsin on April 3 in Madison, Wis. MSU dropped the doubles point and captured three singles wins in the loss.
Emily Meyers leads Michigan State with 13 singles wins in dual action, four conference triumphs and has won eight of her last 10 matches overall.
Davina Nguyen and Athena Trouillot have seven doubles victories to pace the team, while Meyers and Allie Baer lead with four doubles wins in conference play.
Simone Jardim enters her eighth season as the head coach of the Spartans.
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