Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Rally Late, but Fall in Final Match vs. No. 3 Buckeyes
3/28/2025 10:32:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Ohio State 4, #20 Michigan 3
Records: U-M (11-8, 5-2 B1G), OSU (17-2, 6-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 30 -- vs. Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team faced No. 3 Ohio State on Friday (March 28) at the Varsity Tennis Center, and with the team match tied 3-3, the Buckeyes outlasted the Wolverines in the final match to secure a 4-3 win.
In front of a packed VTC crowd, the Wolverines grabbed the doubles point and won an early singles match to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Gavin Young moved into ninth place in doubles wins at Michigan (11-8, 5-2 Big Ten) as he collected his 81st career win, surpassing Mike Leach (1979-82). Young and partner Bjorn Swenson improved to 6-0 with a 6-4 win over Will Jansen and Aiden Kim at No. 1 doubles. Alex Cairo and Will Cooksey trailed their entire match at No. 3 with OSU (17-2, 6-0 Big Ten) holding a 5-3 advantage before the Wolverines rattled off four straight games to take the match 7-5.
Swenson had little trouble with Preston Sterns at No. 5 singles, handing the Buckeye back-to-back 6-2 losses for Swenson's fourth straight win.
Michigan looked to be headed for the team win with Nicholas Steiglehner up 5-4 on Brandon Carpico and was to serve for the match, and Cooksey up 3-1 on No. 13 ranked Aiden Kim.
However, Carpico won three straight games to force a third set, while Kim went on a 5-1 run to force a third set.
Meanwhile, OSU won at Nos. 4 and 3 to even the team score at 2-2.
Carpico rallied to win his third set over Steiglehner on Court 6, but Cooksey responded with a 6-3 win in the third set for his first win over a ranked opponent this season.
The match came down to the third set between No. 85-ranked Young and No. 52-ranked Alexander Bernard on Court 1 with the Buckeye leading 5-4 with Young to serve. The pair held serve until the final point when Bernard broke Young to take the set 7-5 and the match.
Michigan returns to the Varsity Tennis Center at 11 a.m. on Sunday (March 30) when they face Penn State.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 52 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) d. No. 85 Gavin Young (U-M), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 – Will Cooksey (U-M) d. No. 13 Aidan Kim (Ohio State), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3
No. 3 – Will Jansen (Ohio State) d. No. 64 Benjamin Kittay (U-M), 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 – No. 77 Jack Anthrop (OSU) d. Patorn Hanchaikul (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. Preston Stearns (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Brandon Carpico (Ohio State) d. Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 – Gavin Young/Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. Will Jansen/Aidan Kim (Ohio State), 6-4
No. 2 – Nikita Filin/Brandon Carpico (Ohio State) d. Patorn Hanchaikul/Benjamin Kittay (U-M), 6-2
No. 3 – Alex Cairo/Will Cooksey (U-M) d. Alex Fuchs/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State), 7-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 5-4-3-6-2-1
Players Mentioned
