Michigan
North Carolina
Michigan Falls Short in Road Match at North Carolina
3/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Score: North Carolina 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (6-9), UNC (11-3)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, March 21 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), Noon CDT
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 32-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team closed out its non-conference schedule with a tough 4-3 loss to No. 37 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon (March 15) at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Wolverines (6-9) captured a competitive doubles point but claimed just two singles wins during their ninth meeting with the Tar Heels (11-3).
North Carolina struck first in doubles play with a victory at No. 3, but junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) stepped up and delivered a big 8-5 upset win over UNC's No. 22-ranked tandem of Clay Donato and Taylor Fogleman at No. 1 to even things up. Navas and Jung overcame a 3-0 deficit to claim their fourth dual-match victory in five tries this season.
In the decisive match at No. 2, senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) used a late surge to defeat Andrew Crone and Alex Rafiee in a tiebreak, 9-8(2), and give U-M a 1-0 lead. Mazlin and Madden won the final five points in the tiebreak to remain undefeated in dual-match action this season (4-0).
The Tar Heels went in front 2-1 thanks to a pair of straight-set wins at the top two singles positions, but sophomore/freshman Drew Daniel (Overland Park, Kan./Laurel Springs School) answered with a dominating 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Rafiee at No. 6 to even the team score. Daniel has won all but three of his 14 dual matches and needs just one more victory to become Michigan's first 20-win singles player of 2008-09.
North Carolina jumped ahead once again with a straight-set victory at No. 4, and Crone completed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 decision over Madden at No. 3 to clinch the team win for the Tar Heels. Navas closed out the match with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Luke Mojica at No. 5 to keep his perfect dual-match record intact at 6-0.
The Wolverines open the Big Ten Conference season on the road next weekend. Michigan will face Minnesota on Saturday (March 21, noon CDT) at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., and Iowa on Sunday (March 22, 10 a.m. CDT) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex in Iowa City, Iowa.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #23 Clay Donato (UNC) d. Jason Jung, 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 -- #50 Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. Andrew Mazlin, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -- Andrew Crone (UNC) d. Chris Madden, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4 -- Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Peter Aarts, 6-4, 7-6(4)
No. 5 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Luke Mojica, 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Alex Rafiee, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jung/Navas (U-M) d. #22 Donato/Fogleman, 8-5
No. 2 -- Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Crone/Rafiee, 9-8(2)
No. 3 -- Boyajian/Zach Hunter (UNC) d. Daniel/Mike Sroczynski, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 2-1-6-4-3-5
Players Mentioned
