Michigan
Northwestern
U-M Dominates Northwestern to Advance to B1G Tourney Semifinals
4/26/2024 8:22:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 4, Northwestern 0
Records: U-M (15-11), Northwestern (10-18)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 27 -- vs. Michigan State - Big Ten Semifinals (Evanston, Ill.) 2 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team sailed to a 4-0 win over host Northwestern University in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday (April 26) at the Combe Tennis Center. The Wolverines now advance to tomorrow's semifinal and will face the winner of the Michigan State/Indiana match.
Michigan used its strong doubles game to take the early 1-0 lead. Patorn Hanchaikul and Will Cooksey won their third consecutive match in a dominating 6-1 decision at No. 2 doubles. Mert Oral and Bjorn Swenson followed shortly thereafter with a 5-2 win as the duo improves to 8-3 this season. No. 17 ranked Gavin Young and Jacob Bickersteth held a 5-3 lead over No. 53 ranked Felix Nordby/Gleb Blekher at No. 1 when the match was halted.
The Wolverines won all six first sets, including a come-from-behind win for Bickersteth. Down 5-2 to Blekher at No. 2 singles, Bickersteth four of the next five games to send the set into a tiebreaker at 6-6. Bickersteth jumped out to a 4-0 edge and finished with a 7-4 win.
Nicholas Steiglehner gave Michigan a 2-0 lead as he continued on a career-best streak of six straight singles victories. He topped Nick Herdoiza 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles. Down 3-2 in the first set, Steiglehner won three straight games to gain a 5-3 lead to win 6-4. He went up 4-1 in the second and didn't look back for the 6-2 win.
No. 19 ranked Young put up 6-4, 6-2 wins over Presley Thieneman at No. 1. Knotted at 3-3 in the first set, Young went on a 3-1 run to finish with the win. He closed out his second set with four straight games for the win.
Hanchaikul clinched the team victory with 6-2, 6-4 wins over Nordby at No. 4 and improves to 11-3 in singles this season.
The Wolverines now advance to tomorrow's (Saturday, April 27) semifinal and will face Michigan State at 2 p.m. CT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 19 Gavin Young (U-M) d. Presley Thieneman (NU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) vs. Gleb Blekher (NU) 7-6 (7-4), 2-1 unfinished
No. 3 – Bjorn Swenson (U-M) vs. Saiprakash Goli (NU) 6-4, 5-2 unfinished
No. 4 – Patorn Hanchaikul (U-M) d. Felix Nordby (NU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 – Will Cooksey (U-M) vs. Max Bengtsson (NU) 6-4, 2-6 unfinished
No. 6 – Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) vs. Nick Herdoiza (NU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 17 Young/Bickersteth (U-M) vs. No. 53 Nordby/Blekher (NU) 5-3 unf.
No. 2 – Hanchaikul/Cooksey (U-M) d. Owen Megargee/Thieneman (NU) 6-1
No. 3 – Mert Oral/Swenson (U-M) vs. Jackson Caldwell/Herdoiza NU 6-2
Order of Completion:Â Doubles 2-3; Singles 6-1-4
Players Mentioned
