Michigan
Indiana
Wolverines Rally for Home Win over Indiana
4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 1, 2016
» For the third time this season, Michigan rallied for the win after dropping the doubles point. Michigan won all six first sets in singles to take control of the match.
» It was a race to clinch as Carter Lin, Alex Knight and Kevin Wong were each a game away from winning their respective matches. Knight provided the honors, winning 7-6 (2), 6-4 at No. 2.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #20 Michigan 4, Indiana 1
Records: U-M (14-4, 3-1 Big Ten), IU (4-13, 0-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 3 -- vs. Purdue (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point to win four straight singles matches to defeat Indiana, 4-1, on Friday evening (April 1) at the Varsity Tennis Center. With the win, Michigan moves to 11-0 at home.
Indiana took the doubles point by winning matches at No. 1 and No. 2. IU grabbed a 6-3 win at No. 1 before Michigan's No. 3 duo of freshmen Myles Schalet and Lubomir Cuba took an identical victory at No. 3. The U-M pair took an early break at 2-1 on a Schalet cross-court lob and kept the advantage the rest of the way en route to the win.
At No. 2, juniors Jathan Malik and Kevin Wong went up a break at 4-2 but Indiana responded with two straight wins to get back on serve. Both teams held serve the rest of the way to head to a breaker. Michigan was down 5-2 before ripping off three straight points, including a pair of Malik aces, to tie it at 5-5. U-M fought off one match point, but Indiana converted on the next one as the Hoosiers took the doubles point with an 8-6 tiebreak win.
Michigan got off to a fast start in singles, winning all six first sets. Sophomore Runhao Hua was the first Wolverine off court, taking a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4.
Junior/sophomore Davis Crocker quickly followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 6. Crocker broke late in the first set to take the win before taking an early break in the second to coast to the straight-set win.
Malik was Michigan's third point of the evening, winning 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1. He sealed his match with an ace up the middle to put U-M on the brink of the win.
It was a race to see who clinched the match as sophomore Carter Lin, junior/sophomore Alex Knight and Wong remained on court. Lin jumped out to a 3-0 lead in his third set, while Wong stayed on serve for the majority of his final set. Knight, who won his first set in a tiebreaker, exchanged breaks with his opponent before going up for good at 3-2 in the second. He held serve the rest of the way, sealing his match on an ace for Michigan's fourth point via a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory at No. 2.
Both Wong and Lin were one game away from winning their respective matches when they were abandoned.
U-M concludes weekend action on Sunday (April 3), hosting Purdue at noon. Following the match, there will be a kids clinic on the court. Admission to the Varsity Tennis Center is always free.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Jathan Malik (U-M) d. Raheel Manji (IU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Alex Knight (U-M) d. Matthew McCoy (IU), 7-6 (2), 6-4
No. 3 -- Carter Lin (U-M) vs. 6-2, 6-7 (6), 5-4 abandoned
No. 4 -- Runhao Hua (U-M) d. Antonio Cembellin (IU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 -- Kevin Wong (U-M) vs. Elliott Yee (IU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-5 abandoned
No. 6 -- Davis Crocker (U-M) d. Chris Essick (IU), 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Sam Monette/Daniel Bednarczyk (IU) d. No. 39 Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M), 6-3
No. 2 -- Chris Essick/Stefan Lugonjic (IU) d. Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (U-M), 7-6 (6)
No. 3 -- Myles Schalet/Lubomir Cuba (U-M) d. Raheel Manji/Afonso Salgado (IU), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 4-6-1-2
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
