Michigan
Louisville
Michigan Crushes Louisville, Wins Fourth Straight
3/13/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 7, Louisville 0
Records: U-M (7-1), Louisville (5-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 27 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 11 a.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team won its fourth consecutive match of the season, blanking Louisville 7-0 Saturday afternoon (March 13) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines, 7-1 on the season, have a perfect 5-0 home record and have recorded a shutout in three of those five matches, outscoring the opposition 33-2 at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Michigan started the match by gaining the doubles point with victories at all spots in the lineup. Junior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) and freshman Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) got things started with an 8-2 win at the No. 1 spot over Brent McCombe and Scott Schutzman. Senior co-captain William Farah (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and junior Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge Secondary) posted an identical 8-2 victory at the No. 2 slot to capture the team point. The combination of junior John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and senior co-captain Jake Raiton (Portland, Ore./Wilson HS) remained unbeaten in dual match competition (6-0) and ensured the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win at the No. 3 spot.
The momentum carried over into singles as the Wolverines gained victories at all six slots. Wright used little time in disposing of Alex Sivertsen at the top singles spot, blanking him in straight sets (6-0, 6-0). Farah followed with an impressive win at the No. 2 spot, defeating Turtko Kujundzic in straight sets (6-1, 6-1).
Long fought back from an opening set loss to win in three sets at the No. 3 singles slot, beating Louisville's Chris Steel (4-6, 6-2, 6-3). The victory was the 50th of Long's career (50-22 record) and raised his season mark to an impressive 14-6 overall and 7-1 in dual matches.
McCain followed Long with a straight sets win over Oliver Cantrell (6-3, 6-2) at the No. 4 spot in the lineup. McCain has won four straight matches and is 7-1 in dual match competition.
Freshman Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) moved from No. 6 to No. 5 in lineup, posting his 15th singles victory of the season. Cox defeated McCombe (7-6, 6-3) to remain the team's only undefeated played in dual match competition.
Playing his first dual match of the season, McFarlane collected a three-set victory over Oliver Messerli (7-5, 3-6, 7-5) at the No. 6 spot. The win was the 30th of McFarlane's singles career (30-27 record) and completed the Wolverines' third shutout at home in 1999.
The Wolverines will take 14 days off before beginning the Big Ten dual match season with a pair of road contests. Michigan will play at Iowa on Saturday, March 27, and at Wisconsin on Sunday, March 28. Both days matches will begin at 11 a.m. CST.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Matt Wright (U-M) d. Alex Sivertsen, 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 -- William Farah (U-M) d. Turtko Kujundzic, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- John Long (U-M) d. Chris Steel, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 -- Danny McCain (U-M) d. Oliver Cantrell, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d. Brent McCombe, 7-6 (4), 6-3
No. 6 -- Brad McFarlane (U-M) d. Oliver Messerli, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- Wright/McCain (U-M) d. McCombe/Scott Schutzman, 8-2
No. 2 -- Farah/McFarlane (U-M) d. Steel/Kujundzic, 8-2
No. 3 -- Long/Jake Raiton (U-M) d. Sivertsen/Messerli, 8-5
Players Mentioned
