Michigan
Louisiana State
Michigan Drops Home Match to No. 11 Louisiana State
2/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 42 University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped its second straight match with a 5-2 loss to No. 11 Louisiana State Friday evening (Feb. 10) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (4-2) found themselves in a 2-0 hole early on after losing the doubles point and the No. 1 singles match due to retirement, and the Tigers secured the team victory by winning matches on three of the five remaining singles courts.
Michigan was unable to knock off Louisiana State's nationally ranked doubles teams at the No. 1 and 2 spots. Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski, ranked 10th the nation, got the Tigers rolling with an 8-4 triumph over junior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and sophomore Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) at No. 1. It was just Hung and Maravic's third defeat in the last 14 matches dating back to the fall season. LSU's No. 24-ranked tandem of Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston earned an 8-5 victory over junior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and freshman Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) at No. 2 to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the match.
Junior Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) and freshman Scott Bruckmann (Sarasota, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal School) prevented Louisiana State from claiming a doubles sweep, as they earned a quality win at No. 3 over James Cluskey and Paul White. The two teams went toe to toe right up until the end of the extra set before Peretz and Bruckmann took the final two points to win the tiebreaker (8-6) and clinch an 8-7 decision. It was the U-M duo's first career victory as a doubles team.
The Wolverines unfortunately found themselves down 2-0 after No. 58 Maravic pulled out of his No. 1 singles match due to injury. Trailing 1-0 in the first set to No. 66 Skupski, Maravic chose to retire due to dizziness and a headache resulting from being struck in the head with a ball during his doubles match with Hung.
Mazlin gave Michigan a much needed boost with solid win at No. 4, as he dominated Bryan by a 6-1, 6-2 margin to snap a four-match losing skid and earn his team-leading 10th victory of 2005-06. The Tigers answered with a pair of straight-set wins at Nos. 6 and 3, respectively, to clinch the team victory.
With the outcome decided, Peretz earned his fifth win in six dual matches this season by defeating White, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 5. Growcott closed out the match by battling back to defeat Hung in a super-tiebreaker at No. 2, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(8), for LSU's fifth team point.
The Wolverines head back out on the road to face Alabama on Sunday (Feb. 12, noon CST) at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #66 Ken Skupski (LSU) d. #58 Matko Maravic, 1-0, ret.
No. 2 -- Mark Growcott (LSU) d. Brian Hung, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(8)
No. 3 -- Colt Gaston (LSU) d. #62 Ryan Heller, 7-6(4), 6-3
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Danny Bryan, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Paul White, 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 -- James Cluskey (LSU) d. Peter Aarts, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #10 Growcott/Skupski (LSU) d. Hung/Maravic, 8-4
No. 2 -- #24 Bryan/Gaston (LSU) d. Heller/Mazlin, 8-5
No. 3 -- Scott Bruckmann/Peretz (U-M) d. Cluskey/White, 8-7(6)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 1-4-6-3-5-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
