Michigan
Harvard
Mazlin Clinches Michigan's Close Road Win at Harvard
3/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 29 University of Michigan men's tennis team outlasted No. 71 Harvard by a score of 4-3 in its non-conference finale Sunday afternoon (March 19) at the Murr Center. The Wolverines (8-6) built a commanding 3-0 lead by winning the doubles point and singles matches at Nos. 1 and 2, but the Crimson (3-6) stormed back to tie the match with three straight singles victories.
In the deciding match at No. 4, freshman Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) went to three sets with Sasha Ermakov before coming out on top by a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 score to secure the team win for Michigan. It was the second time in Mazlin's young career that he has provided the Wolverines with a decisive singles victory, as he clinched U-M's 4-3 season-opening triumph over Western Michigan in his dual match debut back on Jan. 21.
Straight-set victories by junior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and sophomore Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) put the Wolverines in a comfortable 3-0 lead before Harvard reeled off wins at, in order, Nos. 3, 6 and 5 to even the team score. Maravic picked up his second victory in three days, earning a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Brandon Chiu at No. 1. Hung also won his second straight match, defeating Brian Wan by a score of 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 to move Michigan within one point of the team win.
The doubles competition saw Hung and Maravic earn the first team point with their 8-6 victory over Chiu and Ashwin Kumar at No. 1. It was the Wolverine tandem's 17th win in their last 22 matches dating back to the fall season. Hung and Maravic are the first U-M pairing to earn double-digit victories in dual match play this season (10-4).
Mazlin and junior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) posted a dominating 8-2 victory over Wan and Brian Nguyen at No. 2 to give Michigan the early leg up in doubles, but Harvard responded with a win at No. 3 to set up Hung and Maravic's decisive triumph at the top spot.
The Wolverines stay on the road to face Wisconsin next Saturday (March 25). The match is scheduled for a noon CST start at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #37 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Brandon Chiu, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. Brian Wan, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- Chris Clayton (Harvard) d. #125 Ryan Heller, 6-2, 7-5
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Sasha Ermakov, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 5 -- Dan Nguyen (Harvard) d. Steve Peretz, 6-2, 7-5
No. 6 -- Ashwin Kumar (Harvard) d. Scott Bruckmann, 6-4, 7-6(5)
Doubles
No. 1 -- #15 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. Chiu/Kumar, 8-6
No. 2 -- Heller/Mazlin (U-M) d. Nguyen/Wan, 8-2
No. 3 -- Scott Denenberg/Gideon Valkin (Harvard) d. Peter Aarts/Peretz, 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1, Singles 1-2-3-6-5-4
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On Michigans performance "It was a great win against a strong team on the road. We expected a tough match today. Harvard is not ranked very high but a lot of the losses they took early in the year were when they were shorthanded. They had their full lineup today and they were a very competitive team."
On the play of Andrew Mazlin "Andrew did a great job. It was the second time this year that he was the deciding match on the court and he handled it like a seasoned veteran. He showed great composure and played very aggressive tennis. He handled the pressure extremely well and played a smart match."
On playing on the road just two days after the Michigan State match "They handled it well. They were all about business. We had a short turnaround, we left at 8:30 am the next morning after our match against Michigan State and we had a very high-energy practice when we arrived. Everyone was ready to play right from the start of the match and we were all eager to take care of business. They knew it was our last opportunity to play a non-conference team and they seemed very excited to take another step forward. I have to give them a lot of praise for the way they've been able to stay focused and not take any team lightly this year.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
