Michigan
NCAA Singles & Doubles Day 1
Maravic Claims Michigan's First NCAA Singles Win Since 1992
5/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Event: NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
Scoring: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Thursday, May 24 -- Day 2 at NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships (Athens, Ga.)
ATHENS, Ga. -- Junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) recorded the University of Michigan men's tennis program's first victory at the NCAA Singles Championship since 1992, earning a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 first-round win over Georgia's No. 35-ranked Matic Omerzel Wednesday afternoon (May 23) at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Wednesday's opening round also saw senior Brian Hung's (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) illustrious singles career come to an end, as he dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Mississippi's No. 33-ranked Robbye Poole in the morning session.
The 50th-ranked Maravic, who suffered a opening-round defeat in his first career trip to the NCAA Singles Championship in 2006, was determined to redeem himself at this year's tournament. He got off to a solid start against Omerzel, earning an early break and taking care of all five of his service games to wrap up the first set by a 6-3 margin. Maravic withstood four break points in the final game of the set.
Omerzel drew even in the second set, using an early break of his own en route to a 6-1 win. Maravic turned the tables in the third, running away with a 6-1 victory to clinch the program's first NCAA singles triumph in 15 years. David Kass (1989-92) was the last Wolverine to accomplish the feat, as he won three matches before falling in the quarterfinals of the 1992 tournament.
Hung and Poole exchanged breaks in the first two games before Poole won four straight games to take a 5-1 lead in the first set. Hung stayed in contention by winning three straight games to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Poole wrapped up the first set by holding serve to win by a 6-4 margin.
The second set saw Hung hold and then break Poole's serve to take a 2-0 advantage. Poole then took charge of the match, claiming six of the final seven games to secure the 6-4, 6-3 victory. Hung, ranked 40th in the nation, was making his first career appearance at the national singles tournament.
Maravic and Hung received two of the 48 at-large bids into this year's 64-player draw. The last time Michigan had two NCAA singles qualifiers in one year was in 1989, when Dan Goldberg (1986-89) reached the round of 16 and MaliVai Washington (1988-89) lost in the first round.
Maravic will face ninth-ranked and eight-seeded Luigi D'Agord of Miami (Fla.) in the round of 32 Thursday (May 24) at noon. Maravic will then take the court with Hung for the first round of doubles play against Tennessee's Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers at 5:30 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
#40 Brian Hung
Singles Round of 64 -- l. #33 Robbye Poole (Mississippi), 6-4, 6-3
Finished with an 0-1 record
#50 Matko Maravic
Singles Round of 64 -- d. #35 Matic Omerzel (Georgia), 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
Singles Round of 32 (Thursday, Noon) -- vs. #9 Luigi D'Agord (Miami, Fla.)
Players Mentioned
