Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan Drops Big Ten Semifinal to No. 10 Ohio State
4/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 38 University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 10 Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference Championship semifinals Saturday (April 29) at the Baseline Tennis Center. The No. 4 seed Wolverines (13-11) surrendered the doubles point and matches at three of the top four singles positions en route to their seventh straight defeat to the top-seeded Buckeyes (24-1). It marks OSU's second win over U-M in the last two weeks and the second straight year that Michigan has fallen to Ohio State in the conference semifinals.
Ohio State posted victories at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to collect the first team point. The marquee matchup of the day saw the Buckeyes' No. 1-ranked tandem of Scott Green and Ross Wilson defeat Michigan's No. 10-ranked pairing of junior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and sophomore Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) by a score of 8-3.
The Buckeyes' nationally ranked singles players at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 provided Ohio State with the necessary victories it needed to advance to the championship match. Maravic had to pull out of his No. 1 match against the 40th-ranked Bryan Koniecko due to a sore back, while freshman Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) suffered a 6-3, 6-1 setback to 103rd-ranked Steven Moneke at No. 4. Devin Mullings, ranked 118th, preserved OSU's 15th straight dual match victory, as he handed Hung a 6-2, 6-3 loss at No. 3 for the fourth team point.
The three matches remaining on the courts were abandoned once the team outcome was decided. Ohio State had gained the first set in each of those matches.
The Wolverines will head home to Ann Arbor and await the selection of the tournament field for the 2006 NCAA Championships (May 12-28). Selections for the 64-team field will be announced Wednesday (May 3), with participants in the singles and doubles championships revealed the following day.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #40 Bryan Koniecko (OSU) d. #39 Matko Maravic, 6-4, 3-0 ret.
No. 2 -- #99 Chris Klingemann (OSU) led Ryan Heller, 6-4, 2-1 (abandoned)
No. 3 -- #118 Devin Mullings (OSU) d. Brian Hung, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 -- #103 Steven Moneke (OSU) d. Andrew Mazlin, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 -- Dennis Mertens (OSU) led Steve Peretz, 6-2, 4-3 (abandoned)
No. 6 -- Ross Wilson (OSU) led Peter Aarts, 6-3, 4-5 (abandoned)
Doubles
No. 1 -- #1 Scott Green/Ross Wilson (OSU) d. #10 Hung/Maravic, 8-3
No. 2 -- Drew Eberly/Koniecko (OSU) d. Heller/Mazlin, 8-2
No. 3 -- Klingemann/Mullings (OSU) led Aarts/Scott Bruckmann, 6-3 (abandoned)
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1, Singles 1-4-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
