Weekly Release #5
2/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Feb. 22 -- vs. Brown (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
Friday, Feb. 27 -- at Florida State (Tallahassee, Fla.), 5 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 29 -- vs. Furman (Tallahassee, Fla.), 11 a.m.
This Week
The University of Michigan men's tennis team (5-0) looks for its sixth consecutive dual match victory this weekend, as the Wolverines welcome Brown to the Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday (Feb. 22) for a noon match.
Scouting The Opponent
Brown -- The No. 51-ranked Bears (4-0) will head to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Michigan State on Saturday (Feb. 21) before visiting the Varsity Tennis Center the following afternoon. Senior Jamie Cerretani is ranked No. 42 nationally in singles and teams with Adil Shamasdin for a No. 12 ranking in doubles. Head coach Jay Harris returns for his second season after leading Brown to a 20-5 record and a No. 32 final ITA ranking last year. Brown on the Internet: www.brownbears.com.
Last Week
The Wolverines earned their fifth straight win by handing Toledo a 6-1 loss last Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Varsity Tennis Center. After sweeping the doubles competition, Michigan took five of the six singles matches in straight sets. U-M is undefeated in 14 all-time meetings with the Rockets.
Steamrolling the Competition
U-M has earned the doubles point against all five of its opponents this season, giving up just two of 15 matches. The No. 1 team of senior Anthony Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet HS) and freshman Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and the No. 3 squad of junior Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) and freshman Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) remain undefeated this season at 5-0 and 3-0, respectively. The pairing of junior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) and freshman Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) has a 4-1 mark at No. 2, while Gossain and junior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) hold a 1-1 record at the third spot this year.
Fabulous Freshmen
Michigan's three freshmen have yet to lose a dual match, with Ryan Heller and Steve Peretz holding 5-0 records and Brian Hung going 4-0. Heller has dominated each of his five opponents at No. 3 and No. 4, surrendering just one set in five matches this season. In Peretz's five wins at No. 4 and No. 5, he has given up just two frames. Following a three-set marathon win against Western Michigan's Jose Orozco at No. 3 to open the season, Hung has given up just one set against his last three opponents. The three newcomers also have impressive doubles records, with Hung going 5-0 with Anthony Jackson at No. 1, Heller teaming with Michael Rubin for a 4-1 record at No. 2, and Peretz pairing with Vinny Gossain for a 3-0 mark at No. 3.
AJ Approaches Benchmarks in Singles and Doubles
With his 6-0, 6-3 defeat of Wake Forest's No. 77-ranked Andrew Hamar at No. 2 (Jan. 31), Anthony Jackson moved within one singles win of 40 for his dual match career. In four seasons, Jackson has compiled a dual singles mark of 39-30 and an overall record of 66-53.
After a victory at No. 1 with Brian Hung last weekend, Jackson is also one doubles win shy of 50 for his career. The co-captain has compiled a career doubles mark of 49-50, including a 36-32 record in dual match competition.
Anving Nears 30 Career Singles Wins
Sophomore David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) is one singles victory shy of 30 for his career at U-M. In three seasons wearing the Maize and Blue, Anving has posted an overall singles mark of 29-26. Last weekend against Toledo, Anving's 6-2, 6-0 win over Travis Curran at No. 4 gave him 25 career dual match singles victories (25-17).
The Microwave
Vinny Gossain recorded his 20th career doubles victory last weekend, teaming with Steve Peretz for an 8-1 win over Travis Curran and Brian Rager. Gossain, who is 4-1 in dual match doubles at No. 3 this season, has collected a career doubles mark of 20-26, including a dual match record of 11-16.
Two Rubins, Two 20s
With a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Brian Rager last weekend, sophomore Carey Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) reached his 20th career singles victory at Michigan. In just two seasons, Rubin has collected an impressive record of 20-5, including a dual match mark of 5-1. Rubin, who dominated his fall competition with an 11-2 record, has defeated all three of his dual match opponents at No. 6 this season.
Michael Rubin picked up the 20th dual match singles victory of his career with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Toledo's Khalid Al Nabhani last weekend. In three seasons, Rubin has recorded a 53-23 overall singles mark, including a 20-10 record in dual match play. The co-captain is also three doubles wins shy of 30 for his career (27-32).
Home Cookin'
With the win over Toledo, U-M has won nine consecutive dual matches at the Varsity Tennis Center dating back to last season. The Wolverines have won 33 of their last 41 matches at home dating back to the 2000-01 and have compiled an overall record of 57-16 at the facility.
Michigan Moves Up to No. 46 in National Poll
After two straight weeks at No. 57, the Wolverines moved up to No. 46 in the most recent ITA national rankings, released Tuesday (Feb. 10). Michigan took the 11-spot jump in the polls thanks to dominating wins in its first four dual matches. Defending national champion Illinois still holds down the top spot, while Ohio State rounds out the Big Ten representation in the Top 25 with a No. 16 ranking. U-M's upcoming opponent, Brown, is five spots below Michigan at No. 51.
Meet the Head Coach
Mark Mees is in his fifth season with the Wolverine men's tennis program and has compiled an overall record of 57-39, including a 20-20 mark in the Big Ten. Mees has led Michigan to three NCAA Championship appearances in his four years as head coach, including a trip to the second round in his first season (1999-2000). Last season Mees reached his second major coaching milestone, earning his 50th career win at Michigan with a 4-3 victory over Indiana State in Ann Arbor.
Next Week
The Wolverines will spend their spring break down in Tallahassee, Fla., facing Florida State on Friday (Feb. 27) at 5 p.m. before a neutral-site meeting with Furman on Sunday (Feb. 29) at 11 a.m. Both matches will be played at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
