Michigan
Iowa
Michigan Overwhelms Iowa at Home
3/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 28, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 6, Iowa 1
Records: Michigan (7-7, 3-0 Big Ten), Iowa (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten)
Next Event: Saturday, April 3 -- vs. Northwestern (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Closing out its third dual match in a span of four days, the No. 28-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team improved to 3-0 in Big Ten play, overwhelming Iowa, 6-1, on Sunday (March 28) inside the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines won eight of the nine matches played, pushing their record back to .500 (7-7).
After a war for the doubles point on Saturday against Minnesota (March 27), the Wolverines had little trouble grabbing it against Iowa on Sunday, clinching the point in about 45 minutes. All three of Michigan's doubles teams won and did it in convincing fashion to take the early 1-0 lead. Junior Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) and freshman Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan) moved back into the No. 1 spot and were the first off the court, winning 8-2 over Will Vasos and Tommy McGeorge (Iowa).
Less than 90 seconds later, the senior tandem of Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs Prep) and George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory) won 8-4 over Marc Bruche and Tom Mroziewicz (Iowa), making it Navas' 80th career doubles win. Junior Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa) and freshman Chris Cha (Eureka, Mo./University of Missouri H.S.) then finished doubles off with an 8-3 win over Nikita Zotov and Garret Dunn (Iowa). Michigan has now won the doubles point in 11-of-14 dual matches.
Quickness was the theme of the afternoon as Navas started singles off with a short 6-1, 6-4 win over Vasos at No. 4, in a match that took just over an hour to complete. Madden and King followed suit with a straight-set wins at Nos. 5 and 1, respectively, to give Michigan the first four points and clinch the match. Jung came from behind to dispatch of Zotov at No. 2, while Sroczynski and Cha each headed to supertiebreakers in the third and final set.
Both Sroczynski (at No. 3) and Cha (at No. 6) held early advantages in the supertiebreakers but each let their opponent back in. Sroczynski had to go to extra games in order to put away Haal, who gave Michigan its sixth point when his last two serves found the net. Cha, however, was unable to overcome Austen Kauss, who rallied for a win to give Iowa its only point of the day.
The Wolverines return to the Varsity Tennis Center next weekend, concluding the six-match home stand by facing a pair of Big Ten opponents. Michigan will host Northwestern on Saturday (April 3) at 1 p.m. and Wisconsin on Sunday (April 4) at noon. Both matches could potentially be played outdoors for the first time this season.
The following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 103 Evan King (U-M) d. Marc Bruche (Iowa), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 42 Jason Jung (U-M) d. Nikita Zotov (Iowa), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Reinoud Haal (Iowa), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 1-0 (12-10)
No. 4 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Will Vasos (Iowa), 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. Tommy McGeorge (Iowa), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 -- Austen Kauss (Iowa) d. Chris Cha (U-M), 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
Double
No. 1 -- No. 52 Jason Jung/Evan King (U-M) d. Will Vasos/Tommy McGeorge (Iowa), 8-2
No. 2 -- No. 46 George Navas/Mike Sroczynski (U-M) - Marc Bruche/Tom Mroziewicz (Iowa), 8-4
No. 3 -- Chris Cha/Chris Madden (U-M) d. Nikita Zotov/Garret Dunn (Iowa), -3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 4-5-1*-2-6-3
* Clinched match
N O T E S
• Michigan has won five out of the last six against Iowa. The Wolverines are now 45-8 (.845) all-time against the Hawkeyes in dual-match play.
• Michigan now has a winning record at the Varsity Tennis Center (4-3). It is also the first time this season that the Wolverines have won back-to-back dual matches.
• The win at No. 2 doubles gave Sroczynski and Navas 19 doubles wins on the season (10-3 in dual matches; 8-2 at No. 2).
• Madden has now won four straight and seven of his last nine singles matches.
• Each Michigan player won the first set in singles.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On Sunday's win ... "It was a good weekend for us overall. It was important for us to be ready and show eagerness, energy and aggression. I felt we showed all of those things out on the court today. I was a little disappointed with our start in doubles yesterday [against Minnesota], but I felt we came out today and played very well. I'm very pleased with our play there."
On Mike Sroczynski ... "Physically, he is hitting the ball well. I was a little disappointed in where he was at mentally, but to his credit, he re-grouped towards the end. He can fall into some bad habits mentally, but I think that mentally, he has matured greatly. In his singles match, he stuck to the plan for getting his points."
On where his team is at after sitting 3-0 in Big Ten play ... "I think we are zeroing in on our best tennis yet. We aren't quite there yet, but I think we are very close to being at the top of our game on every court. We've been very fortunate to have our first five Big Ten matches at home."
On next weekend's slate of matches ... "Northwestern is a very good team, a highly competitive team. We were fortunate to get two wins against them last year and I am expecting a battle from them next weekend. Wisconsin is another very good team and we are going to need to be ready for them. I expect two very tough matches next weekend."
U-M Senior Mike Sroczynski
On his singles match ... "I thought I started out pretty well. I had a bit of a mental lapse in the first set and lost my focus for a little bit. I didn't stick to my plan completely. I've got to give the other guy credit in the second set. He played very well. And then that third set is always a dog fight. I was lucky to come out with a win today."
On how he re-focused during his match ... "I tried to tell myself to stick to the plan. In the past, one bad thought would consume me and snowball into others. I didn't want that to happen today. Fortunately, I was strong enough to pull out the win."
On the start to the conference season ... "It's a good start for us. The Big Ten has good teams up and down and we can't look past anyone. Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan State are all good teams. We are looking forward to the next challenge. We need to bring it."
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
