EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Maryland women's tennis team is set to travel to East Lansing, Michigan for the 2016 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament. The fifth-seeded Terps open play on Friday against Illinois, the #51 team in the national rankings and fourth seed in the tournament.
The tournament, hosted by Michigan State University, will begin on Thursday and conclude with the championship match on Sunday.
“We are really looking forward to our first Big Ten Tournament,” said Maryland Head Coach Daria Panova. “We are especially excited that we earned a #5 seed and get the chance to play Illinois again. We worked extremely hard this week to make sure that we are ready.”
Matches begin at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday with eighth-seeded Minnesota taking on ninth-seeded Wisconsin. At 2 p.m., seventh-seeded Indiana will square off with 10th-seeded Michigan State.
Friday's quarterfinals will begin at 10 a.m., with top-seeded Ohio State facing the winner of Minnesota-Wisconsin and fourth-seeded Illinois taking on fifth-seeded Maryland. Second-seeded Northwestern will take on Indiana or Michigan State, while third-seeded Michigan will face sixth-seeded Purdue at 2 p.m.
The tournament semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The championship match will be played on Sunday at Noon and will be broadcast by BTN on May 10 at 7 p.m. ET.
The Terps, who posted a 6-5 record in conference play, saw a three-win improvement during their second year in the Big Ten. Maryland is led by freshman Arnelle Sullivan, who paces the team with 11 singles wins, including seven at #1 singles.
The Terps also boast a nationally-ranked doubles team in Alexandra Stanova and Kristina Hovsepyan. The dynamic duo has gone 11-5 this season with all of their matches being played at the #1 doubles spot.
Live stats, results and complete tournament information can be found here.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
2016 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament
Hosted by Michigan State University
Michigan State Tennis Facilities
April 28 - May 1
Tournament Schedule (All times ET)
Thursday, April 28
10 a.m. - #8 Minnesota vs. #9 Wisconsin
2 p.m. - #7 Indiana vs. #10 Michigan State
Friday, April 29
10 a.m. - #1 Ohio State vs. MINN/WIS winner
10 a.m. - #4 Illinois vs. #5 Maryland
2 p.m. - #2 Northwestern vs. IND/MSU winner
2 p.m. - #3 Michigan vs. #6 Purdue
Saturday, April 30
10 a.m. - Semifinal 1
2 p.m. - Semifinal 2
Sunday, May 1
Noon - Championship Match
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