Singles Sweep Sends Michigan Past Boilermakers

Sunday, April 8

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Noon

Michigan

Purdue

4/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team pushed its winning streak to seven matches with a 6-1 victory over Purdue Sunday afternoon (April 8) in the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (16-4, 7-1 Big Ten) fell a couple points shy of winning the doubles point but stormed back with a vengeance in singles play, claiming straight-set wins on all six courts to wrap up their third straight victory over the Boilermakers (8-9, 1-5 Big Ten).

Purdue got off to a fast start in doubles, with Paul Foley and Griff Nienberg snapping freshmen George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and Mike Sroczynski's (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) five-match winning streak with an 8-4 triumph at No. 3.

Michigan's No. 3-ranked tandem of senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) evened the doubles competition with a close 8-6 victory over Branko Kuzmanovic and Paul Rose at No. 1. Hung and Maravic used a break midway through the match to take a 4-3 lead, and the duo held serve for the remainder of the contest to secure its team-leading 22nd win of 2006-07.

Senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and sophomore Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) held a 7-6 advantage over Jose Fuenmayor and Eric Hodgman at No. 2, but the Boilermaker duo earned a late break to help seal a 9-7 win that clinched the doubles point for Purdue. It was the fifth doubles point that U-M surrendered in 20 dual matches this season.

Mazlin and Heller quickly got their revenge on the singles courts, each posting 6-1, 6-1 victories to give the Maize and Blue a 2-1 lead in the match. Mazlin needed just 42 minutes to dispose of Hodgman at No. 3, while Heller took just 55 minutes to close out Foley at No. 4. Both Wolverines have won four straight matches dating back to March 31.

The 50th-ranked Hung followed suit, picking up a solid 6-3, 6-3 victory over Rose at No. 2. Senior Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) then notched his second match-clinching win of the weekend, claming eight straight games en route to a 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Griff Nienberg at No. 6. Peretz has won seven of 10 dual matches in 2007.

Minutes later, the 68th-ranked Maravic finished off Kuzmanovic by a score of 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 to give Michigan a 5-1 lead. Navas capped off the scoring, using a late surge to defeat Scott Warner by a 6-3, 7-6(4) margin at No. 5. Navas' perfect weekend in singles moves his dual match record to 8-7. He has won three straight matches.

The Wolverines will travel to Houston, Texas, for a non-conference meeting with Rice on Sunday (April 15) at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. CDT start.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- #68 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Branko Kuzmanovic, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- #50 Brian Hung (U-M) d. Paul Rose, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Eric Hodgman, 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Paul Foley, 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Scott Warner, 6-3, 7-6(4)
No. 6 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Griff Nienberg, 7-5, 6-0

Doubles
No. 1 -- #3 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. Kuzmanovic/Paul Rose, 8-6
No. 2 -- Jose Fuenmayor/Hodgman (PU) d. #35 Heller/Mazlin, 9-7
No. 3 -- Foley/Nienberg (PU) d. Navas/Mike Sroczynski, 8-4

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

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423