UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The Penn State women's tennis team is headed to Michigan for two Big Ten matches this coming weekend. The Nittany Lions (10-4, 2-1 B1G) will take on No. 26 Michigan (9-4, 5-0 B1G) in Ann Arbor on Friday, March 29 at 3:30 p.m. and Michigan State (11-8, 2-3 B1G) in East Lansing on Sunday, March 31 at 12 p.m.
"We are hitting the road for our first Big Ten weekend of two matches within the same weekend," said head coach Chris Cagle. "We know that both Michigan and Michigan State will be a great test for us and we expect to get their best shots. Our team has shown throughout the year that we look forward to competition and step up against quality opponents like we will have this weekend. I look forward to seeing how our preparation and competitiveness will translate this weekend!"
FOLLOW ALONG
Michigan: Live Stats/Video
Michigan State: Live Stats and Video
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State defeated Nebraska in Big Ten action, 4-3, to claim its second Big Ten win of the season. The Nittany Lions improved to 6-0 at home.
Chelsea Sawyer (Clemmons, N.C.) clinched the match for the Nittany Lions on court No. 3. Following a two match losing streak, Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) returned to her winning ways as she grabbed her tenth singles win of the season to tie Frederikke Svarre (Copenhagen, Denmark) for a team-high.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
No. 26 Michigan owns a perfect 5-0 record in the Big Ten and comes into the match riding a four-match winning streak.
The Wolverines have four ranked singles players in No. 4 Kate Fahey, No. 24 Chiara Lommer, No. 36 Brienne Minor and No. 107 Giulia Pairone. Additionally, Michigan has two ranked doubles pairs in No. 73 Fahey and Pairone, and No. 76 Fahey and Minor.
Fahey, Minor and Pairone all lead the Wolverines with nine singles wins and Michigan has dropped only two singles matches in conference play.
The two teams met last year at Penn State, with the Wolverines coming out on top, 7-0.
LOOKING INTO THE SPARTANS
Michigan State is riding a two-match losing streak coming into the match and will face No. 19 Ohio State on Friday before seeing the Nittany Lions.
Davina Nguyen and Nicole Stephens lead the Spartans in singles with 11 wins apiece. Samantha Memije has taken over the No. 1 spot for Michigan State, owning a 5-3 record.
Last season, the two teams met at Penn State, with Michigan State walking away with a 5-2 win.
SAMMI SMITH SUPERSTAR
Against then-No. 48 VCU, junior captain Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) claimed career singles win No. 50.
Smith has been a mainstay in the lineup through all three of her years on campus, and this season was named captain alongside Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.).
Smith has increased her total with a win against Nebraska, moving to 51 career wins.
TEN WINS
Penn State has ten wins to its name and only four losses with eight matches remaining on the schedule. The last time the Nittany Lions reached ten wins in a season was in 2015, when the team went 13-11.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will return home to host Minnesota on Friday, April 5 at 5 p.m. and Wisconsin on Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m.
Keep up with the Penn State women's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewten and follow our twitter @pennstateWTEN.
