Notes & Quotes: Michigan 7, Western Michigan 0
1/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 14, 2012
N O T E S
• With today's win, the Wolverines improved to 53-8 in the all-time series against Western Michigan. Michigan has won seven in a row against the Broncos, including back-to-back shutout decisions.
• Michigan also claimed its ninth consecutive win in season openers. The Wolverines are 8-0 in season openers under head coach Bruce Berque.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On earning the doubles point ... "I hope it's a sign of things to come. I think we're going to need to play three quality doubles matches instead of two in the future to consistently win that point. But it was a decent starting point. I was happy with the freshmen in doubles. They were a little nervous in the beginning, but they did a really good job. They've been working really hard in doubles and have shown a lot of improvement. That was a positive, and Evan and Shawn just picked up where they left off in the fall."
On all three Wolverine freshmen winning their singles matches ... "They all did a really good job. They competed well, and they all stayed positive. They are young, but they're mature. There is still plenty to work on and improve, but I love their fight. All three have great passion for tennis. They love to play, they love to practice, and they love to compete. That makes it really fun for us."
On the Wolverines' first dual appearance ... "I was curious to see how they would play in a dual-match environment. I was really happy with it. It was positive, and it was competitive. The only thing I didn't like was the execution of the No. 2 doubles match. But for a young team -- we had three freshmen, two sophomores and one junior -- it was good. I'm getting pretty excited about this team. We love this team, we love all the players, and we don't lose any of them, so it's only going to get better. We might take some lumps along the road this year, but they're going to stay hungry to improve."
On taking momentum into next Saturday's match vs. Duke ... "It can't hurt to win 7-0 against a good team that we respect. That's definitely a positive. We know Duke is one of the better teams in the country. We split two matches against them last year. I'm sure they're coming in as the favorites and we'll have to play our very best, but the guys will be pumped up to do it."
U-M Junior Evan King
On his doubles win with Shaun Bernstein ... "It was the first dual match of the year, so both of us were a little bit nervous. We calmed down a little bit, got a break in serve and started rolling from there. We did a really good job with holding our serve. That helped us throughout the match, because one of their guys was acing us about three times a game. We just stayed calm, stayed the course, got the break and got the win."
On his singles performance ... "I thought I played well. The guy has a big serve, but I was able to neutralize that pretty well in the first set and got a couple breaks. I was getting pretty fired up. It was the first dual match, so I was pumped up about that. I got the first set and battled it out in the second to get the clinch for the win."
U-M Freshman Eli Brown
On winning in his dual-match debut ... "It was very exciting. It was my first dual match, so I didn't really know what I expect. I wasn't initially planning to play today, but I got the call at the last second, got out there and did what I had to do. I was a little bit nervous going out, but I had talked to several of my teammates about how to handle the nerves. Once I got out there, I really started to feel good. Shaun Bernstein, one of our captains, was beside me, and he was really helping me there. I was pretty happy with how I played."
