Michigan
Iowa
Michigan Beats Iowa to Remain Undefeated in Big Ten
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #14 Michigan 5, Iowa 2
Records: U-M (14-2, 5-0 Big Ten), Iowa (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, March 30 -- vs. Minnesota (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team continued its undefeated trek through the Big Ten Conference season with a 5-2 victory over Iowa Friday evening (March 28)at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines, who stand at 5-0 in league play, captured their fourthconsecutive doubles point and secured straight-set wins on four of six singles courts to clinch their fifth straight victory over the Hawkeyes (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten). U-M, which has won eight straight as a team, has matched its best start since 1999 at 14-2.
Iowa grabbed the early momentum in doubles with an 8-3 triumph at No. 1, but Michigan responded with victories at Nos. 2 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead. Teaming together for the first time in their careers, junior Peter Aarts(Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) and sophomore Mike Sroczynski(Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) posted an 8-5 win over Reinoud Haal and Austen Kauss at No. 2. After the Hawkeye duo erased a 4-1 deficit and tied the match at 5-5, Aarts and Sroczynski won the final three games to even up the doubles competition. U-M's No. 56-ranked tandem of junior Andrew Mazlin(Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and freshman Chris Madden(Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) earned a critical break in the final game of their No. 3 match against Christian Bierich and Gregory Holm, which wrapped up an 8-6 victory and the first team point for the Wolverines. Mazlin and Madden hold a team-best 13-2 record against dual-match opposition and have won five straight dating back to March 12.
Iowa tied the match at 1-1 thanks to van Monsjou's 6-2, 6-2 upset win over senior Matko Maravic(Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) at No. 1 singles, but Mazlin quickly closed out Ritchie by a 6-4, 6-2 score at No. 3 to put U-M in front 2-1. Mazlin boasts a team-best 13-2 dual-match mark and a team-high eight-match winning streak. He is one victory shy of achieving his second straight 20-win campaign (19-5).
Sophomore George Navas(Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) extended his winning streak to four matches with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Holm at No. 6, which gave Michigan a 3-1 advantage. Navas won four of the final five games in the second set to complete his seventh Big Ten victory in nine career tries.
Sroczynski provided the clincher, as he knocked off Bierich by a 7-5, 6-3 count for his fourth win in six matches at the No. 2 position. Madden continued to steamroll throughthe competition, with his 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Tommy McGeorge at No. 5 giving Michigan its fifth and final team point. Madden, who has won 11 of 13 in dual-match play, battled back from a 3-1 deficit in the first set en route to earning his seventh straight victory.
Aarts fell just shy of his fifth straight win, as he dropped a super-tiebreaker decision to Haal at No. 4, 7-6(4), 2-6, 1-0(7).
The Wolverines will look to keep their perfect Big Ten record intact on Sunday (March 30) when they welcome Minnesota to the Varsity Tennis Center for a noon match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Bart van Monsjou (Iowa) d. #61 Matko Maravic, 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Christian Bierich, 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. J.P. Ritchie, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- Reinoud Haal (Iowa) d. Peter Aarts, 7-6(4), 2-6, 1-0(7)
No. 5 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. Tommy McGeorge, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Gregory Holm, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Ritchie/van Monsjou (Iowa) d. #20 Maravic/Navas, 8-3
No. 2 -- Aarts/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Haal/Austen Kauss, 8-5
No. 3 -- #56 Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Bierich/Holm, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 1-3-6-2-5-4
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
