Michigan
Wisconsin
Wolverines Pick Up Senior Day Victory over Wisconsin
4/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 12, 2015
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 5, Wisconsin 2
Records: U-M (5-15, 2-7 Big Ten), WISC (7-15, 3-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 17 -- at No. 41 Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In front of a large home crowd on Senior Day, the University of Michigan men's tennis team picked up its second Big Ten win of the season, defeating Wisconsin by the score of 5-2 on Sunday (April 12) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Seniors Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu were honored on the courts in between doubles and singles play.
The Wolverines opened up the outdoor match by taking the doubles point. Freshman Runhao Hua and redshirt freshman Alex Knight had an early break and never looked back, defeating their opponents, 8-3, in the No. 2 position.
The sophomore duo of Tyler Gardiner and Kevin Wong were down 5-0 to start their match in the No. 3 position, but they battled back to win six straight games and take a 6-5 lead. Tied at 6-6, they broke Wisconsin's serve after a long game that featured multiple deuces, ended by Gardiner with a backhand winner. Then Gardiner held serve to win the matchup, 8-6, and clinch the doubles point for the Maize and Blue. Petrone and Zhu were in a neck-and-neck contest at the No. 1 spot, and were leading 7-6 when the match was abandoned.
Hua extended the U-M lead to 2-0 after handily defeating his opponent, 6-1, 6-1, in the No. 3 position. Wong also won in straight sets in the No. 6 spot, besting Michael Sinha, 6-2, 6-4.
Knight proceeded clinched the match with his 6-4, 6-2 triumph over John Zordani in the No. 4 position. He broke Zordani to go up 5-2 in the second set, and then closed the match out with an ace down the middle to give the Wolverines their second conference victory of the season.
The Badgers got on the scoreboard after Jose Carranza beat Gardiner in the No. 5 position, 6-3, 6-4. After splitting sets in the No. 2 position, Petrone lost in a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. He saved two match points, but dropped the tiebreaker, 10-5.
Zhu was the final Wolverine to finish, and he also played a tiebreaker instead of a third set. After losing the close first set, he rallied to win the second, 6-1. Then he came out victorious in the tiebreaker, defeating Josef Dodridge, 11-9, to give Michigan the 5-2 win.
Michigan goes back on the road to take on No. 41 Indiana in Bloomington on Friday (April 17) at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Michael Zhu (U-M) def. Josef Dodridge (WISC) 5-7, 6-1, 11-9
No. 2 -- Jakhongir Jalalov (WISC) def. Alex Petrone (U-M), 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
No. 3 -- Runhao Hua (U-M) def. Lamar Remy (WISC), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 -- Alex Knight (U-M) def. John Zordani (WISC), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Jose Carranza (WISC) def. Tyler Gardiner (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 -- Kevin Wong (U-M) def. Michael Sinha (WISC), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 72 Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M) vs. No. 71 Josef Dodridge/Jose Carranza (WISC), 7-6 DNF
No. 2 -- Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M) def. John Zordani/Lamar Remy (WISC), 8-3
No. 3 -- Tyler Gardiner/Kevin Wong (U-M) def. Jakhongir Jalalov/Michael Sinha (WISC), 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 3-6-4-5-2-1
Communications Contact: Zach Eisendrath (734) 763-4423
