Weekly Release #11
4/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Saturday, April 22 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 23 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), Noon
Thu.-Sun., April 27-30 -- at Big Ten Championship (Bloomington, Ind.), All Day
Men's Netters Close Regular Season on Road
Michigan completes the regular season and Big Ten dual match slate with a trip east to face Ohio State and Penn State. The Wolverines travel to Columbus for a Saturday (April 22, 1 p.m.) match against the Buckeyes at the Stickney Tennis Center. Michigan heads to Penn State for an Easter Day contest (Sunday, April 23, noon) with the Nittany Lions at the Sarni Tennis Center.
Michigan Against Ohio State
The Wolverines and Buckeyes will be meeting for the 86th time on the hardcourt when they play Saturday (April 22) in Columbus. Michigan holds a commanding 70-13-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won seven straight against Ohio State (last loss was a 4-2 match at the 1993 Big Ten Championships). The Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes 6-1 last year at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Wolverines and Nittany Lions
Sunday's (April 23) match will be the 13th meeting between the two programs, with Michigan holding an 11-1 advantage in the all-time series. In a recent series started with PSU's joining the Big Ten Conference, Michigan holds a 9-1 edge (the two schools did play a match during both the 1923-24 and 1924-25 seasons, with the Wolverines winning both). The Wolverines have a 5-1 record all-time in State College, Pa., with the only setback coming 4-3 during the 1992-93 season. U-M defeated Penn State 6-1 last year at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Wolverines Post 3-0 Week
The men's tennis squad completed last week's action with a 3-0 record, beating a trio of regional opponents to raise its regional record to 8-4 this season. Michigan came back after losing the doubles point to defeat Notre Dame (5-2) on Thursday, and posted 6-1 victories over the weekend against Big Ten foes Iowa and Wisconsin. The Wolverines improved to 12-5 on the year with the wins and evened their conference record at 4-4 heading into the final weekend of action.
Michigan Falls to 26th in Team Rankings
After listing in the top 25 for four consecutive weeks, the Michigan men's tennis team dropped to No. 26 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released on Wednesday, April 12. The Wolverines had been ranked the previous four weeks after not being listed among the nation's top 25 for more than three years (October 26, 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 |
| April 12 | No. 26 |
Beam-ing Bright
Sophomore Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) continues to dominate in singles competition for the Wolverines. Beam heads into the final two Big Ten Conference matches of the season with a team-best 15-2 dual match record and a 6-2 mark against conference opponents (has won six straight). He leads the squad in overall wins (23-7), winning percentage (.767), dual wins (15), dual match winning percentage (.882), regional victories (16-5) and conference wins (six). Beam has a seven-match winning streak going heading into the Ohio State and Penn State matches and needs a pair of victories to reach 45 career singles wins (43-22 career record). In doubles action, Beam has an 8-8 overall record and has teamed with both senior Ron Nano (Great Neck, N.Y./South HS) and freshman Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy-Fla.) to post a 7-5 dual match record at the No. 3 spot. Beam has compiled a 14-14 doubles record in his career.
Wright Claims 20th Win
Senior Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) heads into this weekend's matches after posting his third career 20-win singles season. Wright has a 20-11 overall singles record and claimed his milestone victory against Wisconsin's Danny Westerman (6-1, 6-2) last weekend. He has an 8-7 dual match record at the top singles spot and is 13-7 against regional opponents this year. Wright is listed as the No. 68 singles player in the ITA rankings (April 12), after peaking at a season-high No. 35 on Dec. 7.
With an 85-51 career record, Wright ranks eighth in career singles victories at Michigan. He needs three victories to surpass Jon Morris (1985-88) for seventh place. Wright has compiled an impressive 24-18 career record at the No. 1 singles spot.
Long Chasing Top 10 in Career Wins
Senior co-captain John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) heads into the Ohio State and Penn State matches looking to capture his 20th singles win of the season. Long has an 18-13 overall record this season and is 8-8 in dual match competition. He has a 10-10 record against regional opponents. Long ended a career-long seven-match losing streak this past week by winning consecutive singles matches. He claimed his 75th career singles victory against Notre Dame's Matt Daly (6-3, 6-1) and extended his winning streak against Iowa's Jake Wilson (6-4, 6-0) and Wisconsin's David Chang (6-2, 6-2). He needs three victories to claim his 80th career singles win and surpass Matt Horwitch (1977-81) for 10th place all-time on Michigan's career singles list. Long has compiled a 77-39 career singles record and looks to reach the 20-win plateau for the third consecutive year.
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 | 85-51 | 1997- |
| 9. | Ed Nagel | 81-23 | 1985-88 |
| 10. | Matt Horwitch | 79-17 | 1977-81 |
| 11. | John Long | 77-39 | 1997- |
McCain and Cox Earn 15th Victories
Sophomores Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) and Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) head into the final week of the regular season after gaining their 15th singles victories last week. The pair completed 3-0 weeks against regional opponents from Notre Dame, Iowa and Wisconsin.
McCain, the No. 4 singles player for the Wolverines, has compiled a 15-11 record this season and is 10-7 in dual match action. He boasts an impressive 12-5 record against regional foes and is 5-3 against Big Ten competition. McCain defeated Notre Dame's Aaron Talarico (7-6, 6-4), Iowa's Petar Mandic (6-2, 6-4) and Wisconsin's Stefan Reist (7-5, 7-6) last week to extend his season-best winning streak to four matches.
Cox worked hard to gain his undefeated week, winning all three matches in three sets. He came back from an opening-set loss to beat Notre Dame's Andrew Laflin (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), and held on to defeat Iowa's J.R. Chidley (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) and Wisconsin's Dustin Friedman (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) after losing the second set in both matches. Cox has a 15-12 overall singles record this season and is 10-7 in dual match action (9-6 at No. 5, 1-0 at No. 3 and 0-1 at No. 4). He has a 4-4 record against Big Ten opposition and 13-5 career record in conference play. Cox has compiled an impressive 41-18 career singles record.
Held Eyes 10th Victory
Freshman Zach Held (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) enters the weekend series against Ohio State and Penn State looking to capture his 10th singles victory. Held has tallied a 9-8 overall singles record during his first year with the program and is a perfect 4-0 in dual match competition (3-0 at No. 6 and 1-0 at No. 5). He has compiled a 2-0 record in Big Ten dual matches and is 7-6 against regional opponents. Held has teamed with John Long at the No. 2 doubles spot, compiling a 5-6 overall record and 4-5 mark in dual match competition. He is 8-7 overall in doubles action.
Next Week
The Wolverines head to Bloomington, Ind., in pursuit of their conference-record 37th Big Ten tennis title. Michigan looks to challenge for the conference crown and end Illinois' three-year reign at the top of the Big Ten Conference. The team championship begins Thursday, April 27, and ends with the title match on Sunday, April 30.
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
