Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Opens Big Ten Play With Win at Northwestern
2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team opened Big Ten Conference play with a 5-2 road win over No. 38-ranked Northwestern on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 18) at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center. The Wolverines (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) claimed their seventh doubles point in eight matches this season and then took four of six singles matches from the Wildcats (5-6, 0-2 Big Ten) to wrap up their third straight Big Ten season-opening victory.
Michigan's No. 2-ranked doubles team of senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimanzija) was victorious for the 15th time in 18 tries this season. The Wolverine tandem posted a solid 8-2 triumph over Northwestern's No. 27-ranked pair of Matt Christian and Willy Lock at No. 1 to give the Maize and Blue the early momentum. Hung and Maravic have defeated nine nationally ranked doubles teams in 2006-07 and stand at 7-1 in dual match play.
Senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and sophomore Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) continued their stellar play at the No. 2 position, defeating Marc Dwyer and Alex Sanborn by a score of 8-4 to clinch the doubles point for Michigan. Heller and Mazlin, winners of six straight matches, improve to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in dual match action.
The Wildcats evened the match at 1-1 thanks to Christian Tempke's 6-3, 6-1 win over Hung at No. 1 singles, but the Wolverines answered with a pair of straight-set victories to jump in front 3-1. Mazlin continued to steamroll through his dual match competition, defeating Juan Gomez by a 6-3, 6-3 margin at No. 4 to improve his record to 6-1. Freshman Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) remained perfect in dual match play (5-0) by handing Sanborn a 6-3, 6-1 loss at No. 6. Sroczynski holds a team-best seven-match winning streak and has won all but one of the nine collegiate matches he has played.
Northwestern was able to stay alive due to Dwyer's 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over freshman George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) at No. 5, but Heller stepped up and closed out Christian at No. 3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to wrap up the team win for Michigan. Heller has won four straight matches and stands at 5-1 on the dual match season.
The Maize and Blue closed out the match on a winning note, as the 44th-ranked Maravic outlasted Lock by a score of 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 2 for U-M's fifth and final team point. Maravic remains perfect at the No. 2 position (5-0) and holds a team-best 7-1 dual match record.
The Wolverines continue their six-match road swing on Friday (Feb. 23) against Notre Dame. The match is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Christian Tempke (NU) d. #59 Brian Hung, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 -- #44 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Willy Lock, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 3 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Matt Christian, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Juan Gomez, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Marc Dwyer (NU) d. George Navas, 6-3, 7-6(5)
No. 6 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Alex Sanborn, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- #2 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. #27 Christian/Lock, 8-2
No. 2 -- Heller/Mazlin (U-M) d. Dwyer/Sanborn, 8-4
No. 3 -- Gomez/Tempke (NU) d. Navas/Sroczynski, 8-7(6)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 1-4-6-5-3-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
