Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan Pulls Out Singles Wins to Defeat Wisconsin
3/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team ended a three-match Big Ten losing streak to start the conference dual match season, defeating Wisconsin 5-2 Sunday afternoon (March 10) at the Nielsen Tennis Center to collect its first conference win of the season. The Wolverines (7-4, 1-3 Big Ten) rallied after losing the doubles point to capture five of the six singles matches to earn the victory.
The Badgers won a hard-fought doubles point with victories at the top two spots. Justin Baker and Danny Westerman posted an 8-6 victory over juniors Chris Rolf (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) and Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy, Fla.) at No. 1 to give Wisconsin an early edge. Senior Greg Novak (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Cardinal Newman HS) and sophomore Anthony Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet HS) evened things with an 8-5 win at No. 3, beating the Badgers' David Hippee and Jason Gonzaga.
With the doubles point hanging in the balance, Wisconsin's Scott Green and Scott Rutherford tallied a 9-8 victory by a 12-10 score in the tiebreaker to defeat senior Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) and freshman Matt Lockin (Lilburn, Ga./S.D. Independent Study) at No. 2. The loss ended a 10-match winning streak for Beam and Lockin to start the year together.
Trailing 1-0 in the match, the Wolverines stormed back to claim the team victory with five singles wins. Lockin and freshman David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varsbergs Gymnasieskolu) posted straight-set victories, while Jackson and Novak collected three-set wins to give the Wolverines a sweep of the matches at No. 3 through No. 6. Beam continued his stellar play at No. 1, beating 16th-ranked Danny Westerman in a third-set tiebreaker after losing the opening set of the match (6-7, 6-3, 7-6).
The Wolverines host Bowling Green in a non-conference match at the Varsity Tennis Center on Tuesday, March 19. The match between the Wolverines and Falcons begins at 4 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Henry Beam (U-M) d. #16 Danny Westerman, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
No. 2 -- Scott Rutherford (UW) d. Ben Cox, 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 -- Anthony Jackson (U-M) d. David Hippee, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
No. 4 -- Matt Lockin (U-M) d. Scott Green, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 -- Greg Novak (U-M) d. Alex Kasarov, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 -- David Anving (U-M) d. Jason Gonzaga, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Justin Baker/Westerman (UW) d. Chris Rolf/Chris Shaya, 8-6
No. 2 -- Green/Rutherford (UW) d. Beam/Lockin, 9-8 (10)
No. 3 -- Novak/Jackson (U-M) d. Hippee/Gonzaga, 8-5
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
