Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Falls to Illinois in Battle for Big Ten Title
4/24/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #2 Illinois 6, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (15-3, 8-1 Big Ten), Illinois (21-3, 9-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 25 -- vs. Northwestern (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team suffered its first Big Ten Conference defeat of the season, falling 6-1 Illinois on Saturday (April 24) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan pushed the No. 2 team in the country, sending seven singles and one doubles sets to 6-4 or closer, but the Illini captured six of those eight sets en route to the win.
The loss dropped Michigan's record to 15-3 on the season, 8-1 in Big Ten matches, while Illinois improved to 21-3 overall and 9-0 in the conference. With the win, the Illini clinched the top seed in next week's Big Ten Championships (April 29-May 2) in Ann Arbor. With eight conference wins, the Wolverines are assured of the second seed in the tournament.
John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) picked up Michigan's lone point with a three-set victory over nationally ranked Jeff Laski, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. Long is tied for the team lead in conference wins with eight and second in dual match and overall wins with 15 and 22, respectively. The 22 overall victories ties Long's career high for wins in a season set last season.
The Wolverines battled strong at the bottom of the lineup as well. Freshmen Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) and Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) both extended their matches to three sets. Beam took the first set of his match 7-5 before falling in the last two sets 3-6 and 5-7. Cox won the middle set 6-1 but dropped the first and third sets 6-2 and 6-1. The loss was the first of the dual match season for Cox, who still leads the team in dual match (17) and overall (24) wins.
Michigan returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. to face Northwestern at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. The match will mark the final regular-season match for Wolverine seniors William Farah (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and Jake Raiton (Portland, Ore./Wilson HS) as well as the final regular-season match in head coach Brian Eisner's 30-year career.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 10 Oliver Freelove (IL) def. Matt Wright, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 54 Cary Franklin (IL) def. William Farah, 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -- John Long (U-M) def. No. 99 Jeff Laski, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
No. 4 -- Jakub Teply (IL) def. Danny McCain, 7-5, 5-4 (ret.)
No. 5 -- Mike Kosta (IL) def. Henry Beam, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 -- Matt Snyder (IL) def. Ben Cox, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 3 Franklin/Freelove (IL) def. Wright/McCain, 8-4
No. 2 -- Laski/Jamal Parker (IL) def. Farah/Brad McFarlane, 8-5
No. 3 -- Teply/Snyder (IL) def. Long/Jake Raiton, 8-6
NOTES
• This was Michigan's first home loss this season. The Wolverines are 8-1 at the Varsity Tennis Center this season, earning 50 of the 63 points at home.
• Michigan's three losses have all come against ranked opponents -- No. 2 Illinois, No. 28 Virginia and No. 31 Notre Dame.
Players Mentioned
