Weekly Release #10
4/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Thursday, April 13 -- vs. Notre Dame (Varsity Tennis Center), 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 15 -- vs. Iowa (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 16 -- vs. Wisconsin (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 22 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 23 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), Noon
U-M Faces Second Straight Three-Match Week
After completing its first three-match week of the season with a 1-2 record, Michigan looks to play its second straight three-match week of the season. The Wolverines host Region IV opponent and No. 27-ranked Notre Dame on Thursday (April 13, 3 p.m.) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The weekend series and home schedule concludes with a pair of Big Ten matches against Iowa (Saturday, April 15) and Wisconsin (Sunday, April 16) at the Varsity Tennis Center (1 p.m.).
Michigan vs. Notre Dame
The Wolverines' most common non-conference opponent, Notre Dame will meet Michigan for the 59th time on the hardcourt Thursday afternoon (April 13). U-M holds a 38-20 advantage in the all-time series, including a 23-match winning streak from 1962-63 through 1989-90. The Fighting Irish have won 10 of the last 11 matches played between the two schools, though, with the Wolverines' only victory come during the 1996-97 season (7-0 victory in Ann Arbor). Notre Dame has a three-match winning streak against U-M entering this year's match, including a 6-1 victory last season in South Bend.
Wolverines and Hawkeyes
This will be the 42nd meeting between Michigan and Iowa. The Wolverines hold a commanding 37-4 advantage in the all-time series and have won six straight against the Hawkeyes (U-M's last loss was 4-1 at the 1993 Big Ten Championship). Michigan defeated Iowa 5-2 last year in Iowa City, Iowa, and claimed a 6-1 win over the Hawkeyes in the only match played between the two schools at the Varsity Tennis Center (during the 1997-98 season).
Michigan vs. Wisconsin
The Wolverines will face the Badgers for the 71st time on Sunday (April 16). Michigan holds an impressive 62-7-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won eight straight matches against Wisconsin. The Wolverines' last setback was a 6-3 loss to start the 1991-92 dual match season. U-M defeated Wisconsin 4-3 in Madison last year, and defeated the Badgers 7-0 in the only previous match at the Varsity Tennis Center (closed 1996-97 regular season).
Michigan Ranked No. 20 in ITA Team Rankings
For the second straight week, the men's tennis squad is listed No. 20 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings released Wednesday, April 5. The Wolverines have been ranked in the top 25 for the last four weeks after not being listed among the nation's top 25 teams for more than three years (October 25, 1996 preseason ITA rankings). Michigan peaked at a season-high No. 18 in the polls on March 22.
Michigan Week-by-Week in Rankings
| Date | Rank |
| March 15 | No. 21 |
| March 22 | No. 18 |
| March 29 | No. 20 |
| April 5 | No. 20 |
Wright Seeks 20th Win
Senior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) looks to collect his 20th singles victory of the season when the Wolverines take the court this week. Wright is looking to claim his third 20-win singles season, with his 19-15 record last year falling one win shy of four straight for his career. He sat out Sunday's match against Purdue with an injured right shin suffered in his 6-4, 7-6 victory over Indiana's Milan Rakvica Saturday (April 8). Wright won both matches last week to raise his season singles mark to 19-9 overall, and he has tallied a 7-5 dual match record at the No. 1 spot this season. Wright enters this week with a 12-5 record against regional opponents and is 2-3 in Big Ten Conference play.
With an 84-49 career record, Wright ranks eighth in career singles victories at Michigan. He needs one victory to collect the 85th singles win of his career and four victories to surpass Jon Morris (1985-88) for seventh place. Wright has compiled an impressive 23-16 career record at the No. 1 singles spot.
Top 10 All-Time Career Singles Wins
| | Name | Wins | Years |
| 1. | Dan Goldberg | 118-34 | 1985-89 |
| 2. | Peter Pusztai | 115-56 | 1992-96 |
| 3. | Dan Brackus | 101-46 | 1990-94 |
| 4. | Michael Leach | 99-18 | 1978-82 |
| | David Kass | 99-35 | 1988-92 |
| | William Farah | 99-53 | 1996-99 |
| 7. | Jon Morris | 87-35 | 1985-88 |
| 8. | Matt Wright | 84-49 | 1997- |
| 9. | Ed Nagel | 81-23 | 1985-88 |
| 10. | Matt Horwitch | 79-17 | 1977-81 |
Beam Gains 20 Wins, 40th Career Victory
Sophomore Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) heads into the week after capturing his 20th singles win of the season and 40th career singles victory on Sunday (April 9) against Purdue's Derek Miller at the No. 2 spot in the lineup (1-6, 7-6, 6-3). Beam has a 40-22 career singles record and is 20-7 so far this season. He leads the Wolverines in every major statistical category, including overall winning percentage (.741), dual match wins (12-2), dual match winning percentage (.857), Big Ten wins (4-2) and victories in the region (13-5). Beam posted a 3-0 record last week with wins over Michigan State's Ivica Primorac (6-3, 6-3) and Indiana's Gabe Montilla (6-4, 6-4) at the No. 3 spot, and the victory over Miller at No. 2. He posted 20 wins for the second straight year and needs just one victory to set a new career-best singles record.
Held Contributing in Singles and Doubles
Freshman Zach Held (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) enters this week after contributing to the squad in both singles and doubles. Held won his first career Big Ten dual match on Sunday, beating Purdue's Laith Al-Agba in three sets at No. 6 (6-4, 4-6, 6-2). Held has compiled a 7-8 overall singles record during his initial campaign and is 2-0 in dual match action. He teams with senior co-captain John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) in doubles, posting a 3-5 overall record and 2-4 dual match mark (0-1 at No. 1 and 2-3 at No. 2). Held has posted a 6-6 overall doubles record as a freshman.
Trio Moves within Striking Distance of 15 Wins
Michigan sophomores Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) and Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) and senior Ron Nano (Great Neck, N.Y./South HS) head into competition this week within three victories of 15 wins this year. All three players have 12 singles victories this season (Nano and McCain are 12-11, while Cox is 12-12). Cox needs two victories to capture his 40th career singles win (38-18 career record) and McCain needs one victory to gain 30 in his career (29-27 mark).
Long-ing for Victory
Senior co-captain John Long heads into this week looking to end a career-long seven-match losing streak that has seen him drop four three-set matches. Long has compiled a 15-13 overall singles record this season and needs just one victory to claim the 75th singles win of his career (74-39 record). The team's vocal and emotional leader, Long leads the squad with 11 doubles victories and is 7-6 in dual match competition with fellow senior co-captain Brad McFarlane (Kingston, Ontario/Bayridge Secondary HS) and Zach Held.
Next Week
Michigan closes out the Big Ten Conference dual match season and the regular season with a pair of road matches. The Wolverines travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a match against Ohio State (Saturday, April 22, 1 p.m.) and conclude the regular season in State College, Pa., against Penn State (Sunday, April 23, noon).
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
