Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Pounds Northwestern in Big Ten Opener
2/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #19 Michigan 6, Northwestern 1
Records: U-M (6-1, 1-0 Big Ten), Northwestern (6-6, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Tuesday, Feb. 26 -- at #5 Texas (Austin, Texas), 6 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team opened its Big Ten Conference season with a dominating 6-1 victory over Northwestern Friday evening (Feb. 22)at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (6-1, 1-0 Big Ten) won two of three in doubles to take the first team point, and U-M kept rolling with straight-set wins in five singles matches to wrap up their sixth straight victory over the Wildcats (6-6, 0-1 Big Ten).
Junior Andrew Mazlin(Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and freshman Chris Madden(Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS), who made their career debut in the national doubles rankings this week at No. 46, got Michigan off to a fast start with an 8-2 victory over Juan Gomez and David Seyferth at No. 3. Mazlin and Madden have won 10 of 12 matches overall and hold a perfect 6-0 record in dual-match play.
The Wolverines claimed their seventh doubles point in seven matches this season thanks to U-M's No. 29-ranked tandem of sophomore Mike Sroczynski(Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) and freshman Jason Jung(Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS), who erased a 5-3 deficit by winning five straight games to secure an 8-5 triumph over Mark Dwyer and Alex Sanborn at No. 1. Sroczynski and Jung lead the team in overall doubles victories with 13.
Peter Rispoli and Alexander Thams prevented the doubles sweep for Michigan, as the duo outlasted senior Matko Maravic(Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and junior Peter Aarts(Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) in a tiebreaker, 8-7(5), at No. 2. It was U-M's first loss at the second slot this season.
Madden was victorious for the fourth time in five tries against dual-match competition, with his 6-3, 6-3 decision over Seyferth at No. 6 putting the Wolverines on top 2-0. Sroczynski's team-leading fifth dual-match win, 6-3, 6-4 over Sanborn at No. 2, brought the Maize and Blue within one point of clinching the team victory.
Maravic provided the clincher for the fourth time this season, defeating Thams by a 6-4, 7-6(3) count at No. 3. Maravic rebounded from a 5-2 deficit in the second set en route to his third straight win at the third position.
Aarts outlasted Gomez at No. 5, 6-1, 7-6(3), for Michigan's fifth team point. Mazlin closed out the scoring for the Wolverines with a 6-3, 7-6(5) decision over Rispoli at No. 4.
The Wolverines begin a four-match road swing on Tuesday (Feb. 26) when they face No. 5-ranked Texas in Austin, Texas. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CST startat the Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Marc Dwyer (Northwestern) d. Jason Jung, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Alex Sanborn, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 -- Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Alexander Thams, 6-4, 7-6(3)
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Peter Rispoli, 6-3, 7-6(5)
No. 5 -- Peter Aarts (U-M) d. Juan Gomez, 6-1, 7-6(3)
No. 6 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. David Seyferth, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #29 Jung/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Dwyer/Sanborn, 8-5
No. 2 -- Rispoli/Thams (Northwestern) d. Aarts/Maravic, 8-7(5)
No. 3 -- #46 Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Gomez/Seyferth, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 6-2-3-5-4-1
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
