Michigan
Tennessee
Michigan Hands Visiting No. 6 Tennessee First Loss of Season
1/19/2023 9:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, #6 Tennessee 1
Records: U-M (2-0), TENN (4-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 22 -- vs. Brown (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team handed No. 6 Tennessee its first loss of the season, defeating the visiting Vols 4-1 von Thursday (Jan. 19) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young battled their way to a 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles, trading the first games points before winning three of the next four.
Patrick Maloney and Ondrej Styler also battled throughout their set at No. 2 doubles, losing two of the first three games before winning three to take the set and clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory. Bjorn Swenson and Jacob Bickersteth were down 5-4 before the match was abandoned.
Maloney took the court at No. 1 singles and earned his first dual win this season. He and Shunsuke Mitsui went back and forth over the first five games of the set, with Maloney grabbing a 3-2 lead before taking another pair of games to extend the lead to 5-2. Mitsui got two points games to make it a 5-4 set, but Maloney came out victorious 6-4. In the second set, they split the first four games, but Maloney was able to hold off the challenge, taking three of the next four to win 6-3.
Styler improved to 6-2 in singles play as he won at No. 3, 7-6, 6-2 over Emile Hudd. Styler was locked in a battle with Hudd, trading all 12 games before Styler won the tiebreaker 7-5 to take the set. Styler used that momentum to caprture the first three games on route to a 6-2 victory.
Soon after, Tennessee got on the board after Andrew Fenty was unable to hold off Johannus Monday, falling 6-7, 4-6. Meanwhile, Young won his first match of the season to deliver the Wolverines the team match. He won the first two games against Blaise Bicknell before trading the next eight games to win the first set 6-4. He struggled in the second set, falling 6-2, but bounced back in the third. He went down one game early, but won six of the next seven games to secure the match.
Jacob Bickersteth was up 3-1 in the third set after splitting the first two 6-4 and 4-6, and Will Cooksey was in a tiebreak in the second set after losing the first, before the matches were abandoned.
Up next for the Wolverines will be a Sunday doubleheader at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan will first take on Brown at noon, then will welcome Cleveland State at 5 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – Patrick Maloney (U-M) d. No. 59 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN), 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 – Johannus Monday (TENN) d. No. 6 Andrew Fenty (U-M), 7-6(3), 6-4
No. 3 – No. 16 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. No. 81 Emile Hudd (TENN), 7-6(5), 6-2
No. 4 – No. 20 Gavin Young (U-M) d. No. 86 Blaise Bicknell (TENN), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) vs. Boris Kozlov (TENN), abandoned 6-4, 4-6, 3-1 abandoned
No. 6 – Will Cooksey (U-M) vs. Angel Diaz (TENN) 3-6, 6-6 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 14 Andrew Fenty/Gavin Young (U-M) d. Shunsuke Mitsui/Pat Harper (TENN), 6-3
No. 2 – Patrick Maloney/Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. Emile Hudd/Angel Diaz (TENN), 6-4
No. 3 – Bjorn Swenson/Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) vs. Blaise Bicknell/Johannus Monday (TENN), 4-5 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2; Singles 1-3-2-4
Players Mentioned
