Michigan
Purdue
U-M Still Perfect in Big Ten After 4-3 Win at Purdue
4/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Lafayette Sports Center)
Score: Michigan 4, Purdue 3
Records: U-M (14-1, 7-0 Big Ten), PU (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, April 14 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 3 p.m. CDT
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team remained undefeated in conference play, beating Purdue in a close 4-3 match Sunday afternoon (April 11) at the Lafayette Sports Center. The Wolverines have a perfect 7-0 record in the Big Ten and are 14-1 overall on the season.
Purdue jumped to a 1-0 lead on Michigan, winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The Wolverines managed to keep the Boilermakers from a sweep as junior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) and freshman Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) defeated Derek Myers and Laith Al-Agba by an 8-4 score at the No. 1 spot.
Michigan was able to pull out the come-from-behind victory as it won four of the six singles matches. The 4-3 win was the Wolverines' second straight by that score and raised the squad's winning streak to 11th consecutive heading into the final stretch of three Big Ten home matches.
Wright continued his stellar play in conference action, defeating Purdue's Myers at the No. 1 singles spot in straight sets (6-3, 7-5). Wright has compiled a 16-9 record this season and is 5-2 in Big Ten dual matches.
After losing two straight matches, senior co-captain William Farah (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) beat Jamie Gordon at the No. 2 slot, winning both sets in tie-breakers (7-6, 7-6). Farah has a 19-8 overall record this season and heads into the coming week looking to reach the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight year. He also needs four victories to collect 100 career singles victories (96-49 record).
Making a move in the lineup, head coach Brian Eisner moved McCain up to the No. 3 spot and junior John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) down from the third spot to the No. 4 spot. McCain nearly upset Cris James in three sets (1-6, 7-6, 7-5), while Long posted a straight-sets victory over Jason Marshall (6-4, 7-6). The win was the 20th of the season (20-7 record) for Long, giving him his second consecutive 20-win campaign.
The team's final point of the match came from dominating freshman Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS), who defeated Evan Hays in commanding fashion at the No. 6 slot (6-0, 6-1). Cox ran his record to 15-0 in dual match action and raised his team lead in wins to 22 (22-4).
Michigan will play its final road match and non-conference contest of the season against No. 33 Notre Dame on Wednesday, April 14. The match will be played at the Courtney Tennis Center in South Bend, Ind., beginning at 3 p.m. CDT.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Matt Wright (U-M) d. Derek Myers, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 -- William Farah (U-M) d. Jamie Gordon, 7-6, 7-6
No. 3 -- Cris James (PU) d. Danny McCain, 1-6, 7-6, 7-5
No. 4 -- John Long (U-M) d. Jason Marshall, 6-4, 7-6
No. 5 -- Derek Miller (PU) d. Henry Beam, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 6 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d. Evan Hays, 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Wright/McCain (U-M) d. Myers/Laith Al-Agba, 8-4
No. 2 -- Gordon/Dan Swan (PU) d. Farah/Brad McFarlane, 8-3
No. 3 -- James/Marshall (PU) d. Long/Jake Raiton, 8-3
Players Mentioned
