Weekly Release #13
4/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 16 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), Noon
Saturday, April 23 -- vs. Indiana (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
Sunday, April 24 -- vs. Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
This Week
The No. 64 University of Michigan men's tennis team (12-8, 5-2 Big Ten) closes out its road schedule this Saturday (April 16) at Ohio State. The match is scheduled for a noon start at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Scouting the Opponent
Ohio State -- The No. 30-ranked Buckeyes (13-6, 5-1 Big Ten), who host Notre Dame on Wednesday (April 13), look for their third straight conference victory after home wins over Indiana (6-1) and Penn State (4-3) last weekend (April 9-10). Ohio State is led by sophomore Joey Atas, who claimed the Big Ten Singles Championship during the fall and is ranked No. 53 nationally in singles. Juniors Scott Green and Ross Wilson, the 2004 ITA National Indoor doubles champions, are the top-ranked team in the national doubles poll. The Buckeyes return six letterwinners from last year's team, which finished at 26-5 overall (11-2 Big Ten) and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship. Head coach Ty Tucker is in his sixth season at OSU and has compiled a career record of 121-38. Michigan holds a commanding 72-16-2 all-time record against Ohio State, but the Buckeyes won the last meeting 5-2 on March 28 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State on the Internet: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Michigan Splits Pair of Big Ten Contests Last Week
The Wolverines went 1-1 during their Big Ten action at the Varsity Tennis Center last weekend, earning a convincing 6-1 victory over Purdue on Saturday (April 9) before falling to No. 2-ranked Illinois 6-1 on Sunday (April 10). Michigan posted a sweep in doubles play and collected five singles wins to earn their first victory over the Boilermakers since the 2001 season. Bruce Berque was unable to pull an upset in his first meeting against his former school, as the Fighting Illini earned a tight doubles point and singles victories on all but one singles court. Illinois has won 45 straight Big Ten matches dating back to the 2002 season.
Fischer Steps Up Against Illini
Senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) earned perhaps his biggest singles win of 2004-05 on Sunday (April 10), blowing away Chris Martin 6-2, 6-3 to give Michigan its lone point against No. 2 Illinois and improve his record against the Big Ten to a perfect 4-0 this season. With the victory, Fischer extends his winning streak to three matches and improves his overall singles record to 11-5, including a 6-2 mark against dual match opponents. He holds an overall career total of 38-27 (25-17 dual).
Gossain Remains Undefeated in Dual Match Singles
After defeating Iowa's Aaron Schaecterle 6-2, 6-2 (April 3) in his first dual match action since the 2002-03 season, senior Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) stepped into a depleted U-M lineup on Saturday (April 9) and defeated Purdue's Eric Hodgman in a super-tiebreaker at No. 6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0(5). Gossain holds a career singles record of 28-28, including an 9-14 mark against dual match opponents.
Net Points
Senior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) is three victories shy of 50 for his dual match singles career (47-32). Anving has reached double-digit win totals in each of the last three seasons and is seven wins shy of matching his season-best output of 18, set during his sophomore campaign in 2002-03.
Josef Fischer reached his 25th career doubles victory against Purdue (April 9). Fischer, who has tallied a career mark of 25-32, has collected a season record of 11-10, which surpasses his season-best total of 8-10 set in 2003-04.
Sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) recently joined the 30/30 club. Heller holds career marks of 31-25 in singles (22-16 dual) and 30-29 in doubles (23-18 dual).
Sophomore Brian Hung reached his 40th career singles victory with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Purdue's Sounak Chatterjee (April 9). Hung holds a career record of 40-22 (27-12 dual).
Freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija), who is tied for the team lead in dual match singles victories (12-8), is three wins shy of 20 for his overall career at U-M (17-12).
Sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) is on pace for his second straight season with at least 20 singles victories. Peretz, who has collected an overall singles record of 17-12 this year, holds a career record of 37-21 and a dual match mark of 24-13.
Michigan has won the doubles point against 11 of its 20 opponents this season.
U-M holds a 5-8 record against nationally-ranked teams in 2005.
Rubin Out for the Season
Bruce Berque announced Thursday, March 31 that senior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) will be lost for the remainder of the season after fracturing the scaphoid bone in his left wrist during practice on March 25. Rubin competed at the Nos. 1 and 2 singles position this year, compiling an overall record of 10-9 and a dual match mark of 10-5. He finishes his four-year collegiate career with a 67-38 record in singles and a doubles mark of 32-40.
Home Cookin'
After dropping a 6-1 decision to Illinois last Sunday (April 10), Michigan moved its season record at the Varsity Tennis Center to 9-1. The Wolverines are just one win shy of matching its season-best total at the facility (11-2 in 2000-01). U-M has been a dangerous team at the VTC since it opened in 1996, compiling a 69-21 (.767) all-time record in the building.
Michigan No. 64 in the ITA National Rankings
With a 1-1 record in last week's action, the Wolverines moved up one spot to No. 64 in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team rankings, released Tuesday, April 12. Matko Maravic is the lone Wolverine to appear in the most recent ITA national singles rankings (April 5). Maravic, who is listed at No. 119, made his career debut in the national poll at No. 81 on March 22, 2005.
Co-Captains Named for 2005 Team
Bruce Berque has announced the selection of two captains for the 2005 men's tennis team. David Anving and Vinny Gossain were chosen by their teammates to lead Michigan into the dual match season. Both Anving and Gossain are carrying the honor for the first time in their careers.
Four Wolverines Among Region's Best
Four members of the men's tennis team were listed in the ITA's preseason regional rankings, released Nov. 30, 2004. Two Wolverines were recognized among the top 20 singles players in the Midwest Region, while one U-M doubles pairing appeared in the top four.
Brian Hung is listed at No. 4 in singles after a 6-6 record during the fall, including a trip to the ITA Midwest Regional (Oct. 21-26) singles final. Matko Maravic is in the No. 20 slot after a 5-4 fall record and a trip to the quarterfinals at the Big Ten Conference Singles Championship (Nov. 13-14). Michael Rubin entered his final dual match season listed at No. 29 in singles.
Hung and Ryan Heller are listed at No. 4 in the regional doubles rankings. Heller and Hung went 5-5 during the fall and became the first Wolverine doubles tandem to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships (Nov. 4-7) since 1979.
Meet the Head Coach
Bruce Berque is in his first season at the helm of the Michigan men's tennis program. Berque was a member of the University of Illinois men's tennis coaching staff for the past six seasons. After joining the Fighting Illini as a volunteer assistant in January of 1999, Berque served as the associate head coach under Craig Tiley for the last five years. During his tenure, Illinois captured four NCAA championships (one team, one singles and two doubles), two National Indoor team championships, six Big Ten Conference crowns and an NCAA-record 64 consecutive dual match victories. He has coached 13 players to 17 NCAA All-America nominations during his career and was named the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003.
And His Assistant ...
Ann Arbor native Michael Kosta is also in his first season as an assistant coach with the Michigan men's tennis team. Kosta played four years of tennis at Illinois (1999-2002) while Bruce Berque was the Illini's associate head coach. He finished his career at Illinois with a singles mark of 107-47, seventh on the Fighting Illini's all-time wins list, and a 37-7 record in Big Ten conference action. His doubles rsum includes an overall total of 77-41 and a 26-12 record in league competition. Kosta helped lead Illinois to four Big Ten regular season championships and three league tournament titles during his career and earned academic all-conference honors twice (2001-02).
Hung Reaches Midwest Regional Final
Brian Hung had one of the most successful fall seasons in recent history, reaching the singles final of the 64-player ITA Midwest Regional Championship at the Varsity Tennis Center. The 12th seed in the draw, Hung defeated five opponents in straight sets en route to the championship final against Illinois' Ryler DeHeart. Hung put forth a valiant effort before falling 6-3, 6-4 to the No. 2 seed DeHeart. With his finals berth, Hung secured a spot in the 2004 ITA National Indoor Championships.
Doubles Pair Make Noise at ITA National Indoors
The U-M doubles team of Ryan Heller and Brian Hung turned quite a few heads at the 2004 ITA National Indoor Championships at the Varsity Tennis Center. A wild-card entry into the 16-team draw, Heller and Hung posted a 9-8(8) upset over defending champion Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman of Duke in the opening round before dominating North Carolina's Geoff Boyd and Brad Pomeroy, 8-2, to move into the semifinals. Although Heller and Hung were ousted by Stanford's No. 1 ranked team of KC Corkery and Sam Warburg (8-6) in the final four, the collegiate tennis world certainly took notice of Michigan's vast improvement under head coach Bruce Berque's tutelage.
2003-04 Season in Review
Michigan finished the 2004 dual match season with an overall record of 13-9 and a 4-6 mark in Big Ten play. Brian Hung finished the year with a team-high singles record of 22-10 (.688), while Vinny Gossain led the team in overall doubles victories at 18-12 (.600). Michael Rubin became U-M's first All-Big Ten honoree since 2000 after posting a singles record of 21-12, including trips the Big Ten Singles Championship final and the round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships. The ITA placed the Wolverines at No. 55 in the nation and No. 9 in the Midwest Region at the conclusion of the season.
On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines close out the regular season next weekend at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan will host Indiana on Saturday (April 23) and Penn State on Sunday (April 24). Both matches are scheduled to start at noon.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
