Michigan
Butler
Back-to-Back Blankings: Michigan Sweeps Butler
1/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After earning a 7-0 victory over Marquette in Saturday morning's (Jan. 20) season opener, the No. 32-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team returned to the Varsity Tennis Center in the evening and posted another sweep, this time over Butler, to improve its dual match record to 2-0. The Wolverines swept the three doubles matches and used straight-set wins on all six singles courts to move their all-time record against the Bulldogs to a perfect 5-0.
Competing in his first career dual doubles match, sophomore Mike DePietro (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) teamed with classmate Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) for a quick 8-2 victory over Chris Peric and Evan West at No. 3 to give the Wolverines the early leg up.
Freshmen George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) clinched the doubles point for Michigan in their dual match doubles debut, as the pair won five of the final six games en route to an 8-4 triumph over Sandy Berry and Eric Breitenbach at No. 2. Navas and Sroczynski hold a perfect 3-0 mark in the new year, as they went 2-0 at last weekend's Miami Invitational (Jan. 13-14).
Michigan's No. 2-ranked doubles team of senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) jumped out in front of James Low and Ben Raynauld at No. 1 by a score of 5-2, but the Bulldog tandem responded by winning three straight games to tie up the match. The two teams each held serve through the next six games to force a tiebreaker. Hung and Maravic proved to be too strong in the extra set, winning 7-2 to wrap up the U-M doubles sweep and improve their overall record to 10-2 in 2006-07.
Sophomore Scott Bruckmann (Sarasota, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) took just 47 minutes to defeat Peric at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-2, and put the Wolverines ahead 2-0 on the team scoreboard. Minutes after Bruckmann's triumph, classmate Peter Aarts (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) closed out Sandy Berry, 7-5, 6-0, at No. 5 to bring Michigan within one point of claiming the team victory.
The 44th-ranked Maravic provided the clincher, defeating Low 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 to put U-M ahead 4-0 and improve his overall record to 11-4. Mazlin soon followed with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over West at No. 2 to move his record to 9-3 in 2006-07. It was Mazlin's first career match at the second singles slot.
Sroczynski then wrapped up his fourth straight victory of 2007, as he defeated Raynauld by a 6-3, 6-3 margin at No. 4 to improve his overall record to 5-1. Senior Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) completed the sweep with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Breitenbach at No. 3, earning his second victory in two career tries at the position and his 60th singles win overall at Michigan.
The Wolverines return to the court next Saturday (Jan. 27) when they host No. 12 Texas. The "Maize Out" match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #44 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. James Low, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Evan West, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Eric Breitenbach, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Ben Raynauld, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Peter Aarts (U-M) d. Sandy Berry, 7-5, 6-0
No. 6 -- Scott Bruckmann (U-M) d. Chris Peric, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #2 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. Low/Raynauld, 9-8(2)
No. 2 -- George Navas/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Berry/Breitenbach, 8-4
No. 3 -- Mike DePietro/Mazlin (U-M) d. Peric/West, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-5-1-2-4-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
