Michigan
Purdue
Michigan Rallies to Nip Purdue in Regular-Season Finale
4/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team edged Purdue by a 4-3 score Sunday (April 22) at the Varsity Tennis Center, with junior Greg Novak (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Cardinal Newman HS) clinching the match with a three-set victory at the No. 5 singles spot. The Boilermakers (12-9, 4-6 Big Ten) stormed out to a 1-0 advantage by sweeping all three doubles matches, but the Wolverines (12-8, 6-4 Big Ten) rallied with four singles victories to claim the narrow victory.
Michigan started its comeback as sophomore Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy, Fla.) won a 6-2, 6-2 match against Laith Al-Agba at No. 6. Junior co-captain Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) tallied an impressive 6-1, 7-6(1) victory against Jason Marshall at the top singles spot.
Purdue surged to a 3-2 advantage as Andrew Wakefield and Carl McCafferty won straight-set matches at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Wakefield ended a six-match winning streak by junior Dan McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School), winning a 6-2, 6-4 match at No. 3.
Junior Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) pulled the match even with a 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-2 win over Scott Mayer at No. 2, and Novak finished off the team victory with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 win over Derek Miller at No. 5.
The Wolverines, who finished the year with an 11-2 record at the Varsity Tennis Center, await their first-round opponent for the 2001 Big Ten Championship, which will held Thursday through Sunday, April 26-29, at the Nielsen Tennis Center on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Henry Beam (U-M) d. Jason Marshall, 6-1, 7-6(1)
No. 2 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d Scott Mayer, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-2
No. 3 -- Andrew Wakefield (PU) d. Dan McCain, 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 -- Carl McCafferty (PU) d. Anthony Jackson, 6-0, 6-4
No. 5 -- Greg Novak (U-M) d. Derek Miller, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5
No. 6 -- Chris Shaya (U-M) d. Laith Al-Agba, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Marshall/Dan Swan (PU) d. Shaya/Chris Rolf, 8-2
No. 2 -- McCafferty/Al-Agba (PU) d. Beam/McCain, 8-3
No. 3 -- Mayer/Miller (PU) d. Cox/Jackson, 8-2
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
