U-M Defeats Western Michigan in Dual Match Opener

Sunday, January 23

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

Western Michigan

1/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team won five of the six singles matches and swept all three doubles matches in defeating Western Michigan 6-1 at the Varsity Tennis Center Sunday afternoon (Jan. 23). The victory was the first dual match win in the coaching career of first-year head coach Mark Mees.

The Wolverines opened the match by sweeping the doubles matches for a 1-0 lead. Senior Ron Nano (Great Neck, N.Y./South HS) and sophomore Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) started things with a commanding 8-3 victory at the No. 3 spot. Michigan's No. 1 doubles tandem of senior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) and sophomore Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) clinched the team point with a 9-8 victory over Ryan Tomlinson and Steve Pillon, winning 10-8 in the tie-breaker. Senior co-captains John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge Secondary HS) finished the doubles sweep by posting a 9-7 win over Ryan Maarschalk and Kyle Gernhofer.

Michigan won all five singles matches in straight sets. Wright made quick work of Tomlinson (6-0, 6-4) at the No. 1 spot, while McCain posted a 6-3, 6-0 win over Christian Brattstrom at the No. 3 spot. Western Michigan's only point in the match came as Fernando Garcia beat Long in straight sets at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Sophomore Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS), Cox and Nano won matches at the final three singles spots to give the Wolverines their first win of the year.

Michigan returns to the court next Saturday (Jan. 29, 1 p.m.), hosting regional opponent DePaul at the Varsity Tennis Center.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- Matt Wright (U-M) d. Ryan Tomlinson, 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -- Fernando Garcia (WMU) d. John Long, 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 -- Danny McCain (U-M) d. Christian Brattstrom, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 -- Henry Beam (U-M) d. Steve Pillon, 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 -- Ben Cox (U-M) d. Jeff Brink, 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 -- Ron Nano (U-M) d. Kyle Gernhofer, 7-6, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 -- Wright/McCain (U-M) d. Tomlinson/Pillon, 9-8
No. 2 -- Long/Brad McFarlane (U-M) d. Gernhofer/Ryan Maarschalk, 9-7
No. 3 -- Cox/Ron Nano (U-M) d. Garcia/Brink, 8-3

Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423