Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan’s Epic Season Ends in NCAA Quarterfinals
5/19/2022 11:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Khan Tennis Complex)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Result: #4 Ohio State 4, #5 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (25-4), Ohio State (28-3)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Sat., May 23-28 -- at NCAA Singles/Doubles Championship (Champaign, Ill), TBA
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 5 seeded University of Michigan men's tennis team fell 4-2 to No. 4 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday (May 19) at the Khan Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Illinois.
The Wolverines (25-4) finished their season with the program's first Elite 8 appearance since 1988, the first Big Ten Tournament Championship since 1996 and third most wins in program history.
It was another wild match between the two Big Ten rivals, as the teams finished the season splitting four matches. After Michigan grabbed the doubles point outdoors, Ohio State (28-3) went on a run in singles before play was halted due to lightning. Play was resumed indoors, but Michigan was not able to battle back from its deficit.
Michigan won the doubles point for the 25th time this season -- another bright spot on the year for the program. Patrick Maloney and Nick Beaty took the first win 6-2 at No. 2 doubles, earning their 20th win as a duo this season. The tandem improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents with James Trotter and Justin Boulais checking in at No. 17. The pair fell behind 1-0 but came back to win the next three games and take a 3-1 lead. They gave up just one more game and finished wih a 6-2 victory.
Ondrej Styler and Jacob Bickersteth grabbed a 6-4 decision at No. 3 over Cannon Kingsley and J.J. Tracy. Tied up at 4-4, they won the last two games for the all-important doubles point. No. 24 Nino Ehrenschneider and Andrew Fenty were tied 5-5 with No. 2 ranked Matej Vocel and Robert Cash at No. 1 before it was abandoned.
No. 19-ranked J.J. Tracy put Ohio State on the scoreboard with a win over No. 63 Fenty at No. 3. Tracy went up 6-2 outdoors and resumed with a 6-2 win indoors.
No. 70-ranked Bickersteth went on a run to start his No. 4 singles play. He went up 5-0 over OSU's No. 122 Jake Van Emburgh. The Buckeye won the next three games to make a 5-3 set before it was called for weather. Bickersteth quickly finished him off once play resumed indoors, and he added another 6-3 set to give Michigan its lone singles victory on the evening.
Ohio State took back-to-backs wins at No. 6 and 1 to gain the 3-2 edge on Michigan.
No. 9 Cannon Kingsley led No. 27 Ondrej Styler 5-4 outdoors and took the next game indoors for the set. He matched the 6-4 decision in the second set to tie the match 2-2. Justin Boulais led No. 77 Nino Ehrenschneider 5-2 outdoors and took the first set 6-2 before clinching a 6-3 second set.
No. 88 Maloney battled at No. 2 singles with No. 13 Vocel. After dropping a quick 6-1 first set, it was tied 1-1 before moving indoors. Maloney grabbed a 7-5 win to force a third set.
On court 6, Andrew Lutschaunig took a 7-6 (11-9) first set from Beaty and was closing in on the second with all eyes on the court. Up 5-3, Beaty took the next game, but Lutschaunig won the last two games for the 6-4 decision.
Select players will remain in Champaign, the site of the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship. Play gets underway on Monday (May 23), and brackets have yet to be announced.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 9 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) d. No. 27 Ondrej Styler (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 88 Patrick Maloney (U-M) vs. No. 13 Matej Vocel (OSU), 1-6, 7-5, 2-4 unfinished
No. 3 -- No. 19 JJ Tracy (OSU) d. No. 63 Andrew Fenty (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- No. 70 Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) d. No. 122 Jake Van Emburgh (OSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Justin Boulais (OSU) vs. No. 77 Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 -- Andrew Lutschaunig (OSU) d. Nick Beaty (U-M), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 24 Nino Ehrenscheider/Andrew Fenty (U-M) vs. No. 2 Matej Vocel/Robert Cash (OSU), 5-5 unfinished
No. 2 -- Patrick Maloney/Nick Beaty (U-M) d. No. 17 James Trotter/Justin Boulais (OSU), 6-2
No. 3 -- Ondrej Styler/Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) d. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 3-4-5-1-6
Players Mentioned
