Usually, splitting up a team would be unthinkable. In the fall season of college tennis, it’s expected — but not always effective.

Throughout the weekend, the Michigan men’s tennis team played in its first event of the season at the Fighting Irish Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame, with Indiana, DePaul and Western Michigan also participating. For the Wolverines, freshman Pierce Shaya and junior Alex Cairo were the sole representatives. And over three days, they started off the season all on their own, finishing the tournament with a combined 4-6 record.

“It was a little bit of good and bad both,” Michigan assistant coach Alex Lawson said. “A lot of these tournaments that we take our guys to in the fall is more for the experience and the reps just extra in the high pressure situation. So

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