Wolverines Sweep Singles, Defeat Ball State at Home

Saturday, February 5

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Noon

Michigan

Ball State

2/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 49 University of Michigan men's tennis team picked up a solid 6-1 victory over Ball State Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5) at the Varsity Tennis Center. After dropping a close doubles point to begin the day, the Wolverines (3-2) stormed back to take all six singles matches from the Cardinals (2-3).

Peretz (left) and Gossain won for the third straight match.

Senior Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) and sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) gave the Wolverines the early advantage in doubles, claiming their third straight victory at No. 3 over Paul Newman and Klint Knable. The U-M tandem won six of the first seven games en route to an 8-3 win, moving its dual match season record to a perfect 3-0.

The Cardinals drew even with a victory at No. 2 doubles, as Anthony Epkey and Brad Rhodes posted an 8-6 win over senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) and freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija). The BSU pair led 7-4 and was serving for the match, but Fischer and Maravic broke serve and eventually cut the deficit to 7-6. However, the Wolverine duo was unable to break serve for a second time and Ball State prevailed to prevent Michigan from earning the first team point.

The doubles point was decided at No. 1, with Matt Baccarani and Patrick Thompson claiming an 8-5 upset over Michigan's 17th-ranked team of sophomores Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School). Baccarani and Thompson erased a 5-3 deficit by winning five straight games to steal the match and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

U-M quickly tied things up early in singles action, as Heller blew past Jan Polhamus 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4. Soon after Heller's win, Maravic gave the Wolverines the lead with an impressive 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 comeback victory over Epkey at No. 3. Hung broke a two-match losing skid with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Matt Laramore at No. 2, bringing Michigan within one match of capturing the team victory.

Senior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) provided the clincher, defeating Thompson in a straight sets at No. 6. After earning a 6-3 decision in the first set, Anving rallied from a 5-4 deficit and eventually took the second frame 7-6(5) in a tiebreaker.

The Wolverines never let down, posting super-tiebreaker victories in the final two matches on the courts. Senior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) improved to 3-1 at No. 1 this season, defeating Baccarani 6-3, 3-6, 1-0(8). Peretz capped off the singles sweep with a 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(6) triumph over Newman at No. 5.

The Wolverines will next be in action on Sunday, Feb. 13, when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Vanderbilt. The match is scheduled for a noon start at the Currey Tennis Center.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- Michael Rubin (U-M) d. Matt Baccarani, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0(8)
No. 2 -- #70 Brian Hung (U-M) d. Matt Laramore, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Anthony Epkey, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Jan Polhamus, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Paul Newman, 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(6)
No. 6 -- David Anving (U-M) d. Patrick Thompson, 6-3, 7-6(5)

Doubles
No. 1 -- Baccarani/Thompson (BSU) d. #17 Heller/Hung, 8-5
No. 2 -- Epkey/Brad Rhodes (BSU) d. Maravic/Josef Fischer, 8-6
No. 3 -- Vinny Gossain/Peretz (U-M) d. Newman/Klint Knable, 8-3

Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 4-3-2-6-1-5

Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the team's performance against Ball State ... "Obviously the doubles point was disappointing. We did not execute well, especially at No. 1 and No. 2. It was not a question of lack of competitiveness, our guys competed hard and had the intensity. But the basics that we've been addressing in practice were not taken care of. We just need to keep working on that throughout the week." 

On Michigan's strong singles play after giving up the doubles point ... "The guys did a nice job of bouncing back in singles. They didn't show any panic, they just continued to plug away and compete. A few guys in particular stood out in singles. Ryan Heller rebounded from a disappointing outcome in doubles to have a solid singles match. He's really coming along with his singles, which is nice to see. Vinny (Gossain) stood out in doubles, he did a good job with his leadership and his presence on the court. Michael (Rubin) and Steve (Peretz) did a nice job of winning their matches in super-tiebreakers after the dual match had been decided."

On Michigan's upcoming match at Vanderbilt ... "We're going to have to play better than we did today to beat a good team next week in Vanderbilt. I know that if we keep working and competing hard in practice, we're going to have a strong season."

N O T E S

With his win at No. 1, Michael Rubin earned his 60th collegiate singles victory. Rubin holds a career mark of 60-33, including a 24-16 dual match record at No. 1.

Brian Hung's victory at No. 2 gives him 30 singles wins for his career at U-M. Hung holds a career record of 30-16, including a 17-8 mark in dual match play.

With the victory, Michigan maintains its perfect record against Ball State at 9-0.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423