Michigan
Wake Forest
Wolverines Knock Off No. 33-Ranked Demon Deacons
1/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team remained undefeated on the season by upsetting No. 33-ranked Wake Forest 6-1 Saturday (Jan. 31) at the Varsity Tennis Center. After being swept by the Demon Deacons last season, Michigan turned the table this year, claiming two of three in doubles before five wins in singles action.
| | Jackson dominated No. 77 Andrew Hamar in straight sets at the No. 2 singles spot. |
Senior Anthony Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet HS) and freshman Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) stayed perfect on the season with a hard-fought 8-6 victory over Derrick Spice and Brett Ross at No. 1. Andrew Hamar and Todd Paul evened things up at No. 2, handing junior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) and freshman Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) their first loss of the season, 8-6.
In the No. 3 match, junior Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) and freshman Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) battled point for point with Joe Bates and Andrew Simpson before pulling out an 8-6 win to provide U-M with a 1-0 lead.
Jackson started things off in singles play with a dominating 6-0, 6-3 decision over Hamar at No. 2 to improve his season record to 4-0. Seconds later, junior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) picked up his first win of the dual match season, defeating David Loewenthal 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 to give the Wolverines a 3-0 advantage. Wake Forest was able to stay within range thanks to Spice, who handed Rubin his first loss of the season (7-5, 7-5) at No. 1.
In the most dramatic match of the day, Heller came back to defeat Ross in three sets at No. 4. After dropping the first set 4-6, Heller tied things up with a tiebreaker win in the second frame, 7-6(8). In the deciding set, Ross succumbed to a 6-3 defeat and Michigan earned the team victory.
Hung, like Heller, stayed perfect in dual match play by posting a 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-3 decision over Paul at No. 3 for U-M's fifth point of the match. Peretz continued the trend, notching his fourth consecutive win with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Liron Strauss at No. 5.
The Wolverines have a week off before returning to the Varsity Tennis Center for a meeting with Toledo Saturday, Feb. 14. The match with the Rockets is scheduled for a noon start.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Derrick Spice (WFU) d. #34 Michael Rubin, 7-5, 7-5
No. 2 -- Anthony Jackson (U-M) d. #77 Andrew Hamar, 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. Todd Paul, 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-3
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Brett Ross, 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-3
No. 5 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Liron Strauss, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 6 -- David Anving (U-M) d. David Loewenthal, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- Hung/Jackson (U-M) d. Spice/Ross, 8-5
No. 2 -- Hamar/Paul (WFU) d. Heller/M. Rubin, 8-6
No. 3 -- Vinny Gossain/Peretz (U-M) d. Joe Bates/Andrew Simpson, 8-6
N O T E S
U-M has now won the doubles point against all four of its opponents this season, giving up just two of 12 matches. Anthony Jackson and Brian Hung remain remain undefeated at No. 1 (4-0), while the No. 2 tandem of Michael Rubin and Ryan Heller holds a 3-1 record. Vinny Gossain and Steve Peretz improved to 2-0 at No. 3, and Gossain and junior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) have split two matches at the third slot (1-1).
The Wolverines have won eight straight dual matches at the Varsity Tennis Center dating back to last season and 32 of their last 40 at home since the 2000-01 campaign. Michigan holds an overall record of 56-16 at the facility.
Michigan improves its all-time record against the Demon Deacons to 2-1.
Ryan Heller, Brian Hung and Steve Peretz all remain undefeated in their dual match singles careers (4-0).
U-M is 1-0 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
