Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Beat Buckeyes for Seventh Straight Win
4/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 6, Ohio State 1
Records: U-M (10-1, 3-0 Big Ten), OSU (6-12, 0-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 4 -- vs. Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team defeated rival Ohio State 6-1 Saturday afternoon (April 3) at the Varsity Tennis Center, posting its seventh consecutive victory and 10th overall on the season (10-1 record, 3-0 mark in Big Ten play). The Wolverines have won 51 of 54 points this season at the Varsity Tennis Center and are a perfect 6-0 at the facility. Today's match was the first dual match played outdoors at the Henry Clay Ford Outdoor Courts.
U-M gained a 1-0 advantage in the match, winning the doubles point with a sweep of all three matches. Junior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) and freshman Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) posted their 10th victory of the season, defeating Andrew Carlson and John Johansen at the No. 1 spot (8-5). Senior co-captain William Farah (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and junior Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge Secondary HS) followed suit with their 10th win of the year as they beat Derek DeFalco and Ben Basil by an 8-6 score at the No. 2 slot.
Junior John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and senior co-captain Jake Raiton (Portland, Ore./Wilson HS) closed out the doubles play with an 8-6 victory over Chris Porter and Bob Wellstein at the No. 3 spot. Long and Raiton remained unbeaten in dual match competition (9-0) and improved to 11-2 overall on the season.
In singles, Michigan took five of the six matches to claim the 6-1 victory. Wright, Farah and Long used little time putting away their matches at the top three spots in the lineup, posting straight-sets victories over their Ohio State opponents.
The Buckeyes' only victory in the match came as Ben Basil defeated freshman Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) at the No. 5 spot.
The final two matches were finished indoors at the Robert Preston Tisch Indoor Facility as rain began to fall during the third sets. McCain and fellow freshman Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) both held on for hard-fought, three-set wins at the No. 4 and No. 6 spots, respectively. McCain's victory was his 15th of the season (15-9 overall, 9-2 in dual matches), while Cox raised his team leading record to 18-4 overall and 11-0 in conference play.
The Wolverines host Penn State Sunday (April 4) afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Easter Sunday match will begin at 1 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Matt Wright (U-M) d. Chris Porter, 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 -- William Farah (U-M) d. Andrew Carlson, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 -- John Long (U-M) d. Kevin Hawke, 6-4, 7-6
No. 4 -- Danny McCain (U-M) d. Derek DeFalco, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
No. 5 -- Ben Basil (OSU) d. Henry Beam, 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d. Bob Wellstein, 5-7, 6-0, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- McCain/Wright (U-M) d. Carlson/John Johansen, 8-5
No. 2 -- Farah/Brad McFarlane (U-M) d. DeFalco/Basil, 8-6
No. 3 -- Long/Jake Raiton (U-M) d. Porter/Wellstein, 8-6
Players Mentioned
