2023 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament Bracket Revealed

 
ROSEMONT, Ill. (April 23, 2023) – The Big Ten Conference has unveiled the complete bracket for the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament that will be contested April 26-30 at the Schwartz Tennis Center on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
 
Every match of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will be streamed live on B1G+, with further details available at bigtenplus.com. For more information on the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament, visit the official tournament web site at bigten.org/WTEN.
 
Michigan (19-3, 11-0 Big Ten) is the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament after clinching their 11th Big Ten title last weekend. The Wolverines, who are No. 3 in the latest ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) rankings, are the defending Big Ten Tournament champions, earning their fifth conference postseason crown last year with a 4-0 victory over Ohio State in the championship match.
 
Michigan will open Big Ten Tournament play on Friday with a quarterfinal contest at 9 a.m. (ET) against the winner of the second-round match between No. 8 seed Maryland and No. 9 seed Penn State.
 
Ohio State (18-6, 10-1) earned the No. 2 seed for this year’s tournament, dropping just a single match in conference play (4-1 at Michigan on April 16). The Buckeyes are currently No. 9 in the ITA rankings and have three Big Ten Tournament titles to their credit (2016, 2017, 2021). OSU will open its postseason schedule at 3 p.m. (ET) Friday with a tournament quarterfinal match against the winner of the second-round contest between No. 7 seed Purdue and 10th-seeded Nebraska.
 
Illinois (17-8, 8-3) landed the No. 3 seed for the Big Ten Tournament after tying with Wisconsin for third place in the Big Ten standings. The Fighting Illini were awarded the third seed on the basis on their head-to-head win over the Badgers (4-3 on April 14). Illinois is 31st in this week’s ITA rankings and will be seeking its first Big Ten Tournament title. The Fighting Illini will begin this year’s tournament at 6 p.m. (ET) Friday in the last quarterfinal against the winner of the second-round match between No. 6 Iowa and No. 11 Indiana.
 
Rounding out the top four seeds is Wisconsin (18-5, 8-3), which claimed the last of the tournament’s double-byes into the quarterfinal round. The Badgers, who won 12 of their first 14 dual matches this spring, are No. 24 in the ITA rankings and have one Big Ten Tournament title to their credit, that coming in 1996. Wisconsin will play in the second quarterfinal at noon (ET) Friday against No. 5 seed Northwestern, No. 12 seed Michigan or No. 13 seed Rutgers.
 
Along with the tie for third place, two other deadlocks were broken using the Big Ten Conference tiebreaker procedures. Northwestern and Iowa tied for fifth place with 7-4 records, with NU earning the No. 5 seed on the basis of its 4-0 win over the Hawkeyes on April 22. Meanwhile, Indiana, Nebraska and Penn State all tied for ninth place with 4-7 records. All three teams played one another this season, with PSU going 2-0 in the mini round-robin to claim the No. 9 seed, while Nebraska went 1-1 and Indiana 0-2, thereby awarding the Huskers the 10th seed and the Hoosiers the 11th seed.
 
Also, Minnesota, which received the No. 14 seed, announced on April 12, 2023, that it would not compete in its final five regular-season matches nor the Big Ten Tournament. As a result, No. 11 seed Indiana advances to Thursday’s second round via forfeit.
 
The 2023 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament schedule is as follows:
 
Wednesday, April 26 (First Round)
Match 1 (#12 Michigan State vs. #13 Rutgers) – Noon ET (B1G+)
Match 2 (#11 Indiana vs. #14 Minnesota) – forfeited to Indiana
 
Thursday, April 27 (Second Round)
Match 3 (#8 Maryland vs. #9 Penn State) – 9 a.m. ET (B1G+)
Match 4 (#5 Northwestern vs. Match 1 winner) – Noon ET (B1G+)
Match 5 (#7 Purdue vs. #10 Nebraska) – 3 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Match 6 (#6 Iowa vs. #11 Indiana) – 6 p.m. ET (B1G+)
 
Friday, April 28 (Quarterfinals)
Match 7 (#1 Michigan vs. Match 3 winner) – 9 a.m. ET (B1G+)
Match 8 (#4 Wisconsin vs. Match 4 winner) – Noon ET (B1G+)
Match 9 (#2 Ohio State vs. Match 5 winner) – 3 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Match 10 (#3 Illinois vs. Match 6 winner) – 6 p.m. ET (B1G+)
 
Saturday, April 29 (Semifinals)
Match 11 (Match 7 vs. Match 8 winner) – 10 a.m. ET (B1G+)
Match 12 (Match 9 vs. Match 10 winner) – 2 p.m. ET (B1G+)
 
Sunday, April 30 (Championship)
Match 13 (Match 11 vs. Match 12 winner) – Noon ET (B1G+)
 
NOTES: All times are approximate and subject to change … all matches streamed on B1G+ (details available at bigtenplus.com) … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at bigten.org/WTEN.
 
Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching, and public service. Founded in 1896, Big Ten Conference has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten Conference institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013.