EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — The Rutgers women's tennis team (9-5, 0-3 B1G) is set to welcome Michigan State (9-7, 0-2 B1G) and No. 2 Michigan (14-3, 2-0 B1G) to the East Brunswick Racquet Club for a pair of weekend home duals. The Scarlet Knights take on the Spartans on Friday, March 22 at 12 p.m. and the Wolverines on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
 
RU hit the road for a three-match trip to Illinois. The Scarlet Knights faced UIC to close out their nonconference slate (March 14), before taking on B1G opponents Northwestern (March 16) and Illinois (March 17).
 
In the team's match against the Flames, Jackeline Lopez recorded a three-set match-clinching victory to lift Rutgers over UIC, 4-3.
 
The victory closed out RU's 11-match nonconference slate, with the Scarlet Knights playing to a 9-2 record in those duals. Rutgers went a strong 5-1 on the road, as well as 4-1 at home.
 
RU fell in both its matches against the Wildcats and Illini. In the loss at Illinois, Yana Gurevich and Minchae Kim both recorded conference singles victories.
 
Recapping the 2023 Fall
 
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a successful fall schedule, where they posted a team record of 78-59 in singles and doubles competitions through seven total events.
 
Leading the way in singles play was Kim, who claimed 17 total victories, nine singles and eight doubles.
 
Mai Nguyen also had a strong showing, recording an 8-2 record in singles competitions. The sophomore finished the campaign on a five-match win streak which included two straight-set victories and three comeback wins.
 
In doubles, the pair of Nguyen and Badawi won five matches together, the most out of RU's 18 different duos.
 
Recapping the 2023 Spring
 
RU finished its 2023 spring season with an 11-13 record. The campaign was highlighted by a 9-2 nonconference record, earning wins in the first four matches of the year.
 
Following a challenging conference slate that consisted of nine ranked opponents, Rutgers earned the No. 13 seed in the 14-team bracket in the 2023 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament.
 
The Scarlet Knights opened the tournament with a match against No. 12-seeded Michigan State, earning a 5-1 victory. The first round win marked the first Big Ten Tournament win for head coach Hilary Ritchie since she was elevated to the position in 2016.
 
The team's spring campaign ended in the tournament with a 4-1 loss to No. 5-seeded Northwestern.
 
New Kids 'On The Banks'
 
RU welcomed two new additions to the squad this offseason, graduate student Gurevich and freshman Naomi Karki.
 
Gurevich spent four years at UC Davis before coming to join the Scarlet Knights. The Los Gatos, Calif. native announced her decision to finish her collegiate career 'On the Banks' in November 2022.
 
During her successful four-year career with her former team, Gurevich recorded a 44-30 singles record helping her to be named the Big West Player of the Week three times. She was also named to the All-Big West Conference Second Team Singles as a sophomore and junior.
 
Following a strong senior season where she finished with a 10-8 singles record playing exclusively at the top lineup spot, Gurevish was named to the All-Big West Conference First Team Singles and Doubles.
 
Karki began her Rutgers career after finding success at East Brunswick High School where she led her squad to the 2019 NJSIAA State Championship as well as GMC and Red Division titles.
 
As an individual, Karki recorded an impressive 24-2 during that season and was named the Heather O'Reilly Freshman of the Year as well as the GMC Fall Athlete of the Year by MyCentralJersey.com.
 
In 2021, Karki led her team to repeat as both GMC and Red Division champions. She also advanced to semifinals in doubles of G18 National Winter Championships.
Karki spent the 2022 summer training at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy in Villena, Spain.

Aye, Aye Captain(s)

Heading into the upcoming campaign, Ritchie has named Chloe Brown and Lopez as the team's co-captains for the spring. Brown, a senior out of Johns Creek, Ga., will enter the season as captain for the second-straight year, while Lopez, a junior from Dunwoody, Ga., earned the distinction for the first time in her career.
 
Entering her fourth spring season with the Scarlet Knights, Brown has appeared in 39 total matches over the last three years. The senior competed in a career-high 18 matches in 2023, recording 10 total wins, six singles and four doubles. Following the campaign, Brown was named a 2023 ITA All-Academic Team Member and ITA Scholar Athlete.
 
Lopez has been a mainstay at the top of Rutgers' lineups throughout her first two seasons with the program. During the 2023 spring slate, the junior took the court in 23 matches, recording 16 wins, eight singles and eight doubles. All of her singles victories came at the No. 1 spot.

History Against Michigan State

MSU holds a 6-2 advantage in the lifetime series with RU. However, the Scarlet Knights have claimed wins in each of the teams previous two meetings. Most recently, Rutgers recorded a 5-1 win over Michigan State during the first round of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.

History Against Michigan

Rutgers has never beaten the Wolverines, falling in each of the six duals between the two teams.

Scouting the Spartans

MSU is 9-7 through 16 competitions this season, most recently falling to No. 13 Ohio State, 4-2. The Spartans last win came on Saturday, March 16 on the road at Youngstown State.

Ria Bhakta leads Michigan State with a 9-1 singles record this spring. The freshman has been a perfect 2-0 and 4-0 at the No. 3 and No. 4 lineups spots.

Scouting the Wolverines

The Wolverines are a strong 14-3 on the spring, falling only to No. 1 Oklahoma State twice, and No. 9 USC.

Michigan currently has six singles competitors in the ITA ranks, including No. 3 Kari Miller. The Wolverines' doubles team of Miller and Jaedan Brown are the fourth-ranked duo in the country.

Looking Ahead

The Scarlet Knights will spend their next four matches on the road, starting at Penn State on Friday, March 29. RU will then face Ohio State (March 31), Iowa (April 6), and Maryland (April 13).

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