Michigan
Vanderbilt
Wolverines Drop Marathon Match at Vanderbilt
2/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Nashville, Tenn. (Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center)
Score: Vanderbilt 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (1-3), Vanderbilt (6-2)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 8 -- at Duke (Durham, N.C.), Noon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In a back-and-forth match that spanned nearly four hours, the No. 48-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision at No. 26 Vanderbilt on Sunday (Feb. 1) at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
Vanderbilt clinched the dual in the final match on the court, as Suresh Eswaran defeated sophomore/freshman Davis Crocker, 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-4, at the No. 6 singles position.
Michigan picked up singles wins from senior Michael Zhu and freshman Carter Lin at the No. 2 and No. 5 spots, respectively. Zhu improved to 2-0 in singles action with his 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over 73rd-ranked Rhys Johnson. Lin, who joined the Wolverine program at the start of the semester, rallied back from a set down to earn a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over the Commodore's Baker Newman.
U-M posted the first team point of the match, earning victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. The Wolverine duo of Crocker and sophomore Tyler Gardiner defeated Vanderbilt's Eswaran and Daniel Valent, 6-3, at the No. 3 position in the first match off the court. Moments later, the Maize and Blue tandem of Alex Knight and Runhao Hua earned a 6-4 decision over Newman and Ryan Smith at the No. 2 spot to earn the first point of the match. Zhu and senior counterpart Alex Petrone led Johnson and Gonzales Austin, 6-5, 40-0, at No. 1 spot when doubles play was abandoned.
The Wolverines head back out on the road next weekend, traveling to Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday (Feb. 8) to take on Duke at noon.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 10 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Alex Petrone (U-M), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -- Michael Zhu (U-M) def. No. 73 Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt), 7-6 (3), 6-4
No. 3 -- Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. No. 100 Alex Knight (U-M), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 -- Daniel Valent (Vanderbilt) def. Runhao Hua (U-M), 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 -- Carter Lin (U-M) def. Baker Newman (Vanderbilt), 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
No. 6 -- Suresh Eswaran (Vanderbilt) def. Davis Crocker (U-M), 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M) vs. No. 5 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt), 6-5 DNF
No. 2 -- Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M) def. Ryan Smith/Baker Newman (Vanderbilt), 6-4
No. 3 -- Davis Crocker/Tyler Gardiner (U-M) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (Vanderbilt), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2, Singles 3-4-1-2-5-6
Communications Contact: Zach Eisendrath (zeisen@umich.edu)
