Weekly Release #9
4/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Wednesday, April 3 -- vs. Michigan State (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 6 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), Noon
Sunday, April 7 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), Noon
Sunday, April 14 -- vs. Iowa (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
State Week Arrives
The University of Michigan men's tennis team (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) begins a three-match week against the state institutions of the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines host in-state rival and conference foe Michigan State Wednesday evening (April 3, 6 p.m.) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan travels this weekend for matches against Penn State Saturday (April 6, noon) at the Sarni Tennis Center in State College, Pa., and to Ohio State Sunday (April 7, noon) for a matchup with the Buckeyes at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
101st Meeting Between Michigan and Michigan State
The Wolverines and Spartans will battle on the hardcourt for the 101st time on Wednesday (April 3), with Michigan holding a commanding 83-17 series advantage. The two schools have met on the court every year since the 1919-20 season. The Wolverines have won 10 straight matches against the Spartans, including a 6-1 match last year in East Lansing. U-M has a 2-0 record against the Spartans at the Varsity Tennis Center, and has won 18 consecutive matches in Ann Arbor dating back to 1970 (accurate home-away record don't exist prior to 1970).
Wolverines and Nittany Lions
Michigan and Penn State will hit the hardcourt against each other for the 15th time Saturday (April 6) at the Sarni Tennis Center in State College, Pa. The Wolverines have a 13-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won 10 consecutive matches against the Nittany Lions. In a recent series started with Penn State joining the Big Ten Conference, Michigan holds an 11-1 edge (the two schools did play a match during both the 1923-24 and 1924-25 season, with the Wolverines winning both). U-M has a 6-0 record all-time in Ann Arbor and is 3-0 at the Varsity Tennis Center, including a 4-3 home win last season.
Michigan vs. Ohio State
The Wolverines and Buckeyes will meet for the 88th time Sunday (April 7) at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan holds a commanding 72-13-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won nine straight matches against Ohio State (last loss was a 4-2 match at the 1993 Big Ten Championships). The Wolverines won a 4-3 match over the 24th-ranked Buckeyes last year in Ann Arbor, winning the doubles point and splitting the six singles matches.
Michigan at the Varsity Tennis Center
The men's tennis team has made the Varsity Tennis Center a difficult place for the opposition, posting a 7-2 home record so far this season. The Wolverines have compiled an overall record of 42-12 at the six-year-old facility and have posted victories in 20 of their last 24 matches. The school record of 11 home wins was set last season when U-M completed a 13-match slate with an 11-2 mark.
U-M Upsets No. 4 Notre Dame
The Wolverines claimed the biggest victory in head coach Mark Mees' three-year career and one of the largest wins in almost 15 years with a 4-3 home victory against No. 4-ranked Notre Dame (March 27). U-M claimed the doubles with victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 slots and nearly pulled the upset on fifth-ranked Javier Taborga and Casey Smith at No. 1 as junior Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy, Fla.) and sophomore Brett Baudinet (Auckland, New Zealand/King's College) lost 7-2 in a tie-breaker and 9-8 in the match. In singles, Michigan received straight-set victories from seniors Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) and Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. After the Fighting Irish claimed two singles victories to make the score 3-2, freshman Matt Lockin (Lilburn, Ga./S.D. Independent Study) clinched the victory with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Casey Smith at No. 2.
Michigan in the National Rankings
With their upset of No. 4 Notre Dame, the Wolverines will receive a new season-high ranking when the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association are released Wednesday (April 3). The Wolverines were listed No. 46 last week after reaching a season-best No. 40 ranking on March 20. The ITA began the 2001-02 season with seven weekly polls then switched to the computer point-per-match ranking with the March 20 poll and the remainder of the season. The Wolverines have been ranked in the 40's the majority of the year while dipping as low as No. 52 in the March 6 rankings.
Michigan in ITA Rankings
Date Rank Jan. 8 43rd Jan. 30 44th Feb. 13 45th Feb. 20 46th Feb. 27 51st March 6 52nd March 13 46th March 20 40th March 27 46th
Beam Bouncing Top-Ranked Foes
Senior co-captain Henry Beam continues to produce at the top singles slot, collecting critical victories over highly ranked opponents. Beam, ranked 54th in the ITA's national singles rankings, bounced No. 11-ranked Javier Taborga in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) during the Wolverines' upset of Notre Dame. Beam has won four of his last five matches and 11 of his last 14 contests to raise his season record to 16-8 overall. He has compiled an 11-4 dual match record at No. 1 and is 2-2 against Big Ten Conference opposition.
Beam in the Rankings
Date Rank Sept. 13 43rd Dec. 11 60th Feb. 22 57th March 6 NR March 20 54th
Beam Eyes 80th Singles Win
With 16 singles wins this season, Henry Beam needs one victory to reach 80 in his career. Beam has a 79-47 career singles record, which ranks him tied for 12th all-time on Michigan's career wins list. He has compiled a 46-28 record in dual matches during his career and is 19-14 at the top singles slot. Beam needs four victories down the stretch to reach the 20-win plateau for the third time in his career.
Cox Charging
Senior co-captain Ben Cox has recovered from mid-season injury and illness to play an integral part of the stretch run for the Wolverines. Cox won a key 6-2, 7-5 match against Notre Dame's Aaron Talarico at No. 3 singles to raise his season record to 12-11. Cox has a 5-7 dual match record and looks to collect his first Big Ten dual match victory this week. He needs two victories this week to reach 75 in his career (73-46 record) and one dual match win for 50 in his career (49-26).
Lockin Loading Up W's
Freshman Matt Lockin enters the three-match week looking to continue his dominating singles play this season. He leads the Wolverines in every major statistical category this season, including overall singles wins (21-9), overall winning percentage (.700), dual match victories (12-3), dual match winning percentage (.800) and regional victories (15-5). Lockin produced his biggest victory to date on March 27, clinching the 4-3 win over Notre Dame with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Casey Smith at the No. 2 singles slot. Lockin has claimed wins in four of his last five matches.
Beam and Lockin Steamrolling Opposition
The Wolverines' No. 2 doubles pairing of Henry Beam and Matt Lockin is putting together one of the most impressive dual matches campaigns in recent years for Michigan. They have a team-best 14-1 overall and dual match record (all matches at No. 2) and have a 3-1 mark against conference opposition. Beam and Lockin suffered their only loss of the season in a tiebreaker, losing 12-10 to Wisconsin's Scott Green and Scott Rutherford (March 10). Beam and Lockin are 4-1 in tiebreakers this year.
U-M Closes Home Season vs. Iowa
The men's tennis team will honor its three seniors -- Henry Beam, Ben Cox and Greg Novak -- prior to the final home match of the season against Iowa next Sunday (April 14, noon) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
