Michigan
Big Ten Singles Championship
Wright Finishes as Big Ten Singles Runner-Up
1/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Both Wright and Cleveland eased their way into the championship match by not dropping a single set the entire tournament. Cleveland lists No. 24 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in the national singles rankings, while Wright ranks No. 35 in singles.
Wright, a senior and the tournament's No. 2 seed, posted five consecutive straight-set victories to reach the championship battle of the top-seeded competitors. Wright defeated No. 14 seed Royce Ramey of Illinois in the semifinals (7-6, 7-5) and dominated No. 5 seed Graydon Oliver of Illinois in the quarterfinal round (6-4, 6-2).
Sophomore Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) advanced to the quarterfinals with three impressive victories, including a dominating upset of No. 7 seed Tyson Parry of Minnesota (6-1, 6-3). Beam lost a hard-fought, three-set match to No. 14 seed Royce Ramey of Illinois in the quarterfinals, winning the first set 6-2 but dropping the final two sets 6-4 and 7-6. Beam finished with a 3-1 tournament record and his best finish in two Big Ten Singles Championship appearances.
The Wolverines' bid for four quarterfinalists was dashed as senior co-captain John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and sophomore Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) were beaten in third-round action by seeded players. Long, the No. 8-seeded player in the tournament, lost to No. 15 seed Harsh Mankad of Minnesota (6-2, 6-4), while the unseeded McCain suffered a close straight-set loss to No. 9 seed Chris Porter of Ohio State (7-6, 7-5). Both Long and McCain finished with 2-1 records.
Also competing in the main draw for the Wolverines were sophomore Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) and senior Ron Nano (Great Neck, N.Y./South HS). Cox beat Iowa's J.R. Chidley and Nano defeated No. 3 seed Brad Erickson of Northwestern to pull the tournament's biggest upset. Both players lost second-round matches but the Wolverines as a team went 6-for-6 in first-round action.
In the No. 7 and No. 8 player bracket tournament, senior co-captain Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge Secondary HS) reached the semifinals before losing to Penn State's Jamie Gresh (6-4, 6-4). McFarlane finished the championship with a 2-1 record. After an opening-round bye, freshman Zach Held (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) lost in his second round match to Penn State's Jamie Gresh in three sets (4-6, 7-6, 6-2). Held rebounded for a pair of consolation-round victories before losing to Vincent Ng of Ohio State (6-2, 6-0). Held posted an impressive 2-2 record in his first appearance at the tournament.
The Wolverines open the dual meet season next Sunday (Jan. 23) against Western Michigan. The match will be played at the Varsity Tennis Center, beginning at 1 p.m.
Following are match-by-match individual results:
No. 2 seed Matt Wright
First Round -- d. Eric Robertson (Minnesota), 6-1, 6-2
Second Round -- d. Robert Topalo (Michigan State), 6-1, 6-2
Third Round -- d. No. 16 seed Danny Westerman (Wisconsin), 6-1, 6-3
Quarterfinals -- d. No. 5 seed Graydon Oliver (Illinois), 6-4, 6-2
Semifinal -- d. No. 14 seed Royce Ramey (Illinois), 7-6 (3), 7-5
Championship -- l. No. 1 seed Tyler Cleveland (Iowa), 7-5, 6-4
Tournament runner-up with a 5-1 record
Henry Beam
First Round -- d. Gabriel Montilla (Indiana), 7-6 (3), 7-5
Second Round -- d. No. 7 seed Tyson Parry (Minnesota), 6-1, 6-3
Third Round -- d. Nathan Zeder (Illinois), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Quarterfinals -- l. No. 14 seed Royce Ramey (Illinois), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6
Finished with a 3-1 record
No. 8 seed John Long
First Round -- d. Hunter Skogman (Iowa), 6-2, 6-2
Second Round -- d. Adam Schumacher (Wisconsin), 6-3, 6-3
Third Round -- l. No. 15 seed Harsh Mankad (Minnesota), 6-2, 6-4
Finished with a 2-1 record
Danny McCain
First Round -- d. No. 6 seed Francisco Trinidad (Michigan State), 5-2 Injury Default
Second Round -- d. Justin Baker (Wisconsin), 6-4, 6-4
Third Round -- l. No. 9 seed Chris Porter (Ohio State), 7-6, 7-5
Finished with a 2-1 record
Ben Cox
First Round -- d. J.R. Chidley (Iowa), 6-2, 6-0
Second Round -- l. Matt Snyder (Illinois), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Consolation -- l. Steve VanderWesthuyzen (Penn State), 6-1, 6-4
Finished with a 1-2 record
Ron Nano
First Round -- d. No. 3 seed Brad Erickson (Northwestern), 7-6, 6-3
Second Round -- l. Martin Michalowski (Minnesota), 6-3, 7-6
Consolation -- l. Andrew Carlson (Ohio State), 7-5, 6-3
Finished with a 1-2 record
No. 7 and No. 8 Player Bracket
Brad McFarlane
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Matt Frakes (Penn State), 6-4, 6-2
Quarterfinals -- d. Ben Schreiber (Illinois), 6-3, 6-1
Semifinals -- l. Jamie Gresh (Penn State), 6-4, 6-4
Finished with a 2-1 record
Zach Held
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- l. Jamie Gresch (Penn State), 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
Consolation -- d. Adam Hourani (Michigan State), 6-3, 6-1
Consolation -- d. Tres Jones (Iowa), 7-6 (5), 6-4
Consolation -- l. Vincent Ng (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-0
Finished with an 2-2 record
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
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Players Mentioned
