Tennis to Face Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament First Round

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 13-seeded Rutgers women’s tennis team (9-12, 0-10 B1G) will face No. 12 Michigan State (9-13, 2-9 B1G) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday, April 26 at 12 p.m. The tournament, hosted by Purdue, will take place in West Lafayette, Indiana.  

 

The stage is set 👀

Rutgers will open the 2023 #B1GWTEN Tournament against Michigan State on Wednesday, April 26 at noon!#GoRU | #RTennis https://t.co/DYKDF11Vc5

— Rutgers Tennis (@RutgersTennis) April 23, 2023

Last Time Out  

Rutgers ended the regular season last weekend after falling to No. 9 Ohio State and No. 62 Penn State in a pair of 4-0 decisions.  

Despite the outcome, against the Buckeyes on April 22, the pair of Tara Chilton/Amira Badawi defeated the 28th-ranked pair from the Buckeyes in a dominating 6-1 decision on the first court. The victory marks the pairs’ first victory on the top court and first over a nationally ranked duo.    

 

VICTORY‼️

Tara Chilton and Amira Badawi defeat the 28th ranked pair from #9 Ohio State on the first doubles court 👏#GoRU | #RTennis pic.twitter.com/mKA4g5acdq

— Rutgers Tennis (@RutgersTennis) April 22, 2023

Strong Start 

The Scarlet Knights came out hot in the spring, starting off with a perfect 4-0 record. The team earned sweeps over Bucknell (7-0), Binghamton (7-0) in addition to wins against Drexel (6-1) and Army (5-2) for their first and best undefeated start since 2018.  

Transferring In 

RU welcomed two transfers this offseason in Amira Badawi (NJIT) and Tara Chilton (Washington).  

Badawi, a native of Cairo, Egypt, compiled a 30-7 record with NJIT over two seasons, including an impressive 22-5 mark playing in the top three singles spots for the Highlanders in 2021-22, a season that ended with a second place showing in the Southland Conference Tournament.  

In her two seasons at Washington, Chilton compiled an 18-18 singles and 17-14 doubles record. Last year as a sophomore, Chilton and the No. 37 Huskies played to a 14-12 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She went 7-2 in singles tournament play including reaching the round of 32 at ITA Northwest Regional.  

Freshmen Duo 

Rutgers also welcomed two freshmen to the squad, Mai Nguyen and Arina Volitova.  

Ranked top 75 nationally, Nguyen…