EAST LANSING, Mich. – Following a three-match homestand, the Michigan State women’s tennis team are back on the road this weekend as its slated to take on Minnesota on Friday, April 12 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Then the Spartans will also travel to Wisconsin on Sunday, April 14, first serve is slated for 1 p.m. ET.
B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman No. 92-ranked Ria Bhakta became the first Spartan since 2019 to be named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Wednesday, following her top 20 victory against Michigan’s No. 19-ranked Julia Fliegner last Saturday. The Delray Beach, Florida, native Bhakta would pull off a come from behind victory over Fliegner for the biggest victory of her young career. Bhakta worked her way back after dropping the first set, 4-6, to rattle off two-straight set victories (6-4, 1-0 [11-9]) in a true back-and-forth matchup.
Bhakta has been Michigan State’s top performer on the singles court garnishing an impressive 10-2 overall record in the dual season, 2-1 in B1G duals and 8-2 in her last 10 complete matches.
For the first time since 2019, the Spartans has a Women’s Tennis Player of the Week!
Congratulations to our very own Ria Bhakta 🤩#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/fnlwOOJSj0
— Michigan State Women’s Tennis (@MSU_WTennis) April 10, 2024
A NEW FACE IN THE RANKINGS
Following her impressive victory last weekend, Bhakta has earned national recognition with her first collegiate ranking, entering at No. 92 in the latest ITA singles ranking.
For the eighth week in a row, the Green and White tandem of senior Ayshe Can and graduate student Nicole Conard appeared in the ITA doubles ranking. The doubles stock continues to rise as they jumped up three spots this week to No. 34.
We got a new face in the latest ITA Rankings❗️❗️#GoGreen | #Unmatched pic.twitter.com/LtVwLkAHL5
— Michigan State Women’s Tennis (@MSU_WTennis) April 9, 2024
KNOW THE FOE: MINNESOTA
Minnesota enters the weekend with a 10-9 overall record with a 3-4 B1G record. In their last outing, the Gophers were shutout in a pair of duals to two nationally ranked B1G foes last weekend, falling to No. 32-ranked Illinois, 4-0, and No. 37-ranked Northwestern, 7-0. Minnesota has defeated two ITA ranked opponents this season with victories over No. 48-ranked Purdue, 4-1, and No. 62-ranked Iowa,…
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