Michigan
Michigan State
U-M Beats Spartans, Remains Perfect in Big Ten Play
4/7/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (MSU Tennis Facility)
Score: Michigan 5, Michigan State 2
Records: U-M (12-1, 5-0 Big Ten), MSU (7-9, 3-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 10 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), Noon CDT
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis squad won its ninth straight match and remained unbeaten in Big Ten Conference dual match play with a 5-2 victory against Michigan State Wednesday evening (April 7) at the MSU Tennis Facility. The Wolverines improved to 12-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference action.
Michigan secured the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles spots. Junior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) and freshman Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) beat Trey Eubanks and Chris Struck by an 8-5 score at the No. 1 spot. Senior co-captain William Farah (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and junior Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge HS) won 8-6 at the No. 2 slot against Ivica Primorac and Francisco Trinidad to gain the two matches required for the doubles point.
Leading 1-0 heading into the singles matches, the Wolverines managed victories in four of the six contests to claim the 5-2 win. Michigan has won eight straight matches against the Spartans and holds an 81-17 overall record in 98 matches.
Farah posted a hard-fought victory at the No. 2 singles spot, beating Ken Kigongo in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 7-6). Farah's victory was the 95th of his singles career (95-48 record) and boosted his season mark to 18-7. He is a perfect 5-0 in conference play and won his 10th dual match of the campaign (10-3 record at the No. 2 slot.
John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) claimed his ninth consecutive victory with a straight-sets win (6-2, 6-4) over MSU's Primorac at the No. 3 singles slot. Long lists second on the team in dual match victories (12-1), overall wins (19-6) and winning percentage (.760).
Michigan other victories came from the freshman tandem of Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) and Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles slot respectively. Beam posted a straight-sets victory (6-4, 6-2) over Trinidad, while Cox remained unblemished in dual competition with a three-set win (2-6, 7-5, 6-2) against Mark Jacobson. Cox's victory was his team-leading 20th of the season (20-4) and moved his winning streak to 13 straight.
The Wolverines play a pair of Big Ten road matches against Indiana (Saturday, April 10, at noon CDT) and Purdue (Sunday, April 11, at 1 p.m. CDT).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Trey Eubanks (MSU) d. Matt Wright, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 -- William Farah (U-M) d. Ken Kigongo, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
No. 3 -- John Long (U-M) d. Ivica Primorac, 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 -- Chris Struck (MSU) d. Danny McCain, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
No. 5 -- Henry Beam (U-M) d. Francisco Trinidad, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d. Mark Jacobson, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- McCain/Wright (U-M) d. Eubanks/Struck, 8-5
No. 2 -- Farah/Brad McFarlane (U-M) d. Primorac/Trinidad, 8-6
No. 3 -- Findling/Kigongo (MSU) d. Long/Jake Raiton, 8-6
Players Mentioned
