Michigan Picks Up Key Non-Conference Win Over Rice

Sunday, April 15

Houston, Texas

11:00 AM CT

Michigan

Rice

4/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

HOUSTON, Texas -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team extended its winning streak to eight matches, thanks to an impressive 5-2 non-conference victory over No. 27-ranked Rice Sunday afternoon (April 15) at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. The Wolverines (17-4) lost the doubles point but rebounded with wins on five of six singles courts to clinch an important win over the Owls (13-10). U-M defeated Rice for the second year in a row.

Rice got off to a solid start with a quick win at No. 3 doubles, but U-M's No. 3-ranked pairing of senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) answered with an 8-5 triumph over the Owls' 59th-ranked duo of Ralph Knupfer and Tobias Scheil at No. 1.

In the decisive match at No. 2, Jason Mok and Christoph Muller rallied back from a 7-4 deficit to beat Michigan's No. 35-ranked tandem of senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) by a score of 9-7 and clinch the first team point for Rice.

Freshman George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) quickly closed out Hoony Shin by a 6-3, 6-0 margin at No. 6 singles to tie the match at 1-1. Navas has won four straight and remains undefeated at the sixth position (3-0).

The Owls reclaimed a 2-1 advantage after Muller handed Heller a 6-4, 6-2 loss at No. 3. The Wolverines answered the call once again though, with Mazlin closing out Scheil by a 6-4, 6-1 margin at No. 4 to square the match at 2-2. Mazlin, who is undefeated in his last five outings, carries a team-best 16-3 dual match record.

The 68th-ranked Maravic's 6-1, 6-2 triumph over the 95th-ranked Knupfer at No. 2 gave the Maize and Blue its first lead of the day at 3-2. Maravic has won 15 of 20 dual matches this year, including eight of nine at the second spot.

Freshman Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) provided the clincher for Michigan, as his 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory over Mok at No. 5 gave the Wolverines a 4-2 lead. Sroczynski has won five straight matches and stands at 10-2 in dual match action.

The 50th-ranked Hung closed out the match with one of his biggest wins of the year, a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 triumph over 28th-ranked Ben Harknett at No. 1. It was Hung's 20th win of 2006-07 (20-11) and his 80th overall (80-54). He has compiled three 20-win seasons in his four years at Michigan.

The Wolverines close out the regular season next weekend at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan will host Indiana on Saturday (April 21) and Ohio State on Sunday (April 22), with both matches set to start at noon. U-M will honor its 2007 Senior Class -- Heller, Hung and Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) -- prior to the match against the Buckeyes.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- #50 Brian Hung (U-M) d. #28 Ben Harknett, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
No. 2 -- #68 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. #95 Ralph Knupfer, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 -- Christoph Muller (Rice) d. Ryan Heller, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Tobias Scheil, 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Jason Mok, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Hoony Shin, 6-3, 6-0

Doubles
No. 1 -- #3 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. #59 Knupfer/Scheil, 8-5
No. 2 -- Mok/Muller (Rice) d. #35 Heller/Mazlin, 9-7
No. 3 -- Harknett/Dennis Polyakov (Rice) d. Navas/Sroczynski, 8-3

Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 6-3-4-2-5-1

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423