Tennis welcomes Wisconsin, Minnesota for its final pair of regular season duals

PISCATAWAY, NJ The Rutgers women's tennis team (10-10, 1-8 B1G) welcomes No. 29 Wisconsin (16-7, 7-2 B1G) and Minnesota (11-10, 4-5 B1G) to the Livingston Tennis Center this weekend for the final pair of regular season duals.

The Scarlet Knights will host the Badgers on Saturday, April 20 at noon for their first game in the program's new facility. A Letterwinner Celebration will also take place during the competition.

The game on Sunday, April 21 against the Gophers will celebrate Senior Day. The first service is scheduled for noon and a ceremony honoring the program's five seniors will take place before the dual meet.

Parking at the new facility is free and you can register your car using the link above.

Last timeout

RU dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 52 Maryland on Saturday, April 13, at the Junior Tennis Champion Center.

Jackeline Lopez her first conference singles win of the season in the rout. The junior defeated Francesca Feodorov in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.

A recap of Fall 2023

The Scarlet Knights are coming off a successful fall schedule, posting a team record of 78-59 in singles and doubles competitions in a total of seven events.

Taking the lead in singles was Minha Kimwho achieved a total of 17 wins, nine singles and eight doubles.

Mai Nguyen also had a strong performance, posting an 8-2 record in singles competition. The sophomore finished the campaign on a five-match win streak that included two straight wins and three comeback victories.

In doubles, the pair of Nguyen and Amira Badawi won five matches together, the most among RU's 18 different duos.

A recap of Spring 2023

RU finished the 2023 spring season with an 11-13 record. The campaign featured a 9–2 non-conference record, posting wins in the first four games of the year.

After a challenging conference that featured 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 seed Michigan State and earned a 5-1 victory. The first-round win marked the first Big Ten Tournament victory for the 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 seed Northwestern.

New children 'on the banks'

RU welcomed two new additions to the roster this season, graduate students Yana Gurevich and freshmen Naomi Karki.

Gurevich spent four years at UC Davis before joining the Scarlet Knights. The Los Gatos, California native announced her decision to complete 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, leading her to be named 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.

After a strong senior season in which she finished with a 10-8 record in singles and played exclusively at the top spot in the lineup, 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 the GMC and Red Division titles.

As an individual, Karki posted an impressive 24-2 during that season and was named the Heather O'Reilly Freshman of the Year and 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 the doubles semifinals of the G18 Winter National 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 given a name Chloe Brown and Lopez as team co-captains for the spring. Brown, a senior from Johns Creek, Georgia, will enter the season as captain for the second year in a row, while Lopez, a junior from Dunwoody, Georgia, earns the distinction for the first time in her career.

Brown is entering her fourth spring season with the Scarlet Knights and has played in a total of 39 games over the past three years. The senior appeared in a career-high 18 matches in 2023, recording a total of 10 wins, six singles matches and four doubles matches. Following the campaign, Brown was named an ITA All-Academic Team Member and ITA Scholar Athlete for 2023.

Lopez was a mainstay at the top of Rutgers' lineups during her first two seasons with the program. During the spring of 2023, the junior took the court in 23 matches, recording 16 wins, eight singles and eight doubles. All of her singles wins came at the No. 1 spot.

History vs. Wisconsin

RU is 1-7 in the lifetime series against Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights only won against the Badgers in 2017, a 4-3 victory on home field.

History vs. Minnesota

The Gophers hold a 9-1 lead in the all-time series among programs. Minnesota only canceled its most recent dual scheduled for 2023 due to a forfeit.

Exploring the badgers

Wisconsin has had a strong season as a mainstay in the ITA rankings. The Badgers are 16-4 and came in at No. 29 in the most recent team poll after splitting a pair of duals with Michigan and Michigan State.

Sophomore Maria Sholokova is the nation's 80th-ranked singles player due to her 16 victories in the spring. The native of Sochi, Russia has not lost a match since February 3, 2024 in Texas.

Scouting the Gophers

Minnesota is 11-10 on the season heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Most recently, the Gophers hosted and split a pair of duals against Michigan State and Michigan.

The team is led by sophomore Aiva Schmitz, who has amassed 15 singles wins this season. She earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors on March 13 for her performances against Indiana and Purdue, and has scored the winning point in all three of Minnesota's conference victories.

Looking forward

The Scarlet Knights await their fate ahead of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game starts on Wednesday, April 24 and runs until Sunday, April 28.

To follow

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