Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Outlasts Penn State in Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex)
Event: Big Ten Championship
Score: #17 Michigan 4, Penn State 2
Records: U-M (18-5), PSU (15-11)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, April 26 -- vs. #2 Ohio State at Big Ten Championship (Iowa City, Iowa), 10 a.m. CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team opened the Big Ten Conference Championship with a hard-fought 4-2 quarterfinal victory over No. 40-ranked Penn State Friday afternoon (April 25) at the University of Iowa's Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The No. 4 seed Wolverines (18-5) fell behind 2-1 to the No. 5 seed Nittany Lions (15-11) before securing three straight singles wins to advance to the semifinals for the fourth straight season.
Penn State gained the early momentum with an 8-2 triumph at No. 3 doubles, but U-M's No. 30-ranked tandem of sophomore Mike Sroczynski(Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) and freshman Jason Jung(Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) drew the Maize and Blue even with an 8-5 victory over Adam Slagter and Guillaume St-Maurice at No. 2. Sroczynski and Jung took advantage of an early break en route to their team-leading 19th overall victory of 2007-08.
Senior Matko Maravic(Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and junior Andrew Mazlin(Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) clinched the pivotal doubles point with their 8-6 win over PSU's No. 27-ranked duo of Michael James and Brendan Lynch at No. 1. Maravic and Mazlin were down two breaks at 5-2 before storming back to steal the match and the first team point.
The Nittany Lions pulled ahead 2-1 with victories at the top and bottom singles positions, but Sroczynski stepped up and evened the score with a big 7-6(6), 6-4 decision over Eddie Bourchier at No. 4. Mazlin then capped off yet another clutch performance, as he battled back to earn a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Lynch at No. 3 to give Michigan a 3-2 advantage. Mazlin holds a team-best 24-7 overall singles record, including an 18-4 mark in dual-match play.
With Penn State leading 4-2 in the third set on the No. 2 court, freshman Chris Madden(Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) finished off James Dwyer by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 score at No. 5 to send the Wolverines to the semifinals. Madden has been victorious in 15 of 18 dual matches in his first season.
Michigan will meet top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Ohio State in the semifinals tomorrow (Saturday, April 26). The match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. CDT start at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #64 Michael James (Penn State) d. #62 Matko Maravic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
No. 2 -- Jason Jung (U-M) vs. Adam Slagter, 7-5, 4-6, 2-4 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Brendan Lynch, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Eddie Bourchier, 7-6(6), 6-4
No. 5 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. James Dwyer, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
No. 6 -- Guillaume St-Maurice (Penn State) d. Peter Aarts, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Maravic/Mazlin (U-M) d. #27 James/Lynch, 8-6
No. 2 -- #30 Jung/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Slagter/St-Maurice, 8-5
No. 3 -- Bourchier/Dwyer (Penn State) d. Madden/George Navas, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-1-4-3-5
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
