Men's Tennis Edged 4-3 by Purdue

Sunday, April 9

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

Purdue

4/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis squad lost its second consecutive Big Ten Conference match Sunday afternoon (April 9), losing a tight 4-3 match to Purdue at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines were forced to shuffle their lineup in today's match as senior No. 1 player Matt Wright (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate HS) was unable to play after suffering a back injury in yesterday's match with Indiana.

For the second straight day, Michigan was swept in doubles and fell behind 1-0 in the match as Purdue managed to win three closely contested matches. Jason Marshall and Andrew Wakefield clinched the sweep with a 9-7 victory over senior co-captain John Long (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and freshman Zach Held (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) at the top spot. Derek Miller and Evan Hays gained the Boilermakers' first doubles victory with an 8-5 win over sophomore Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) and freshman Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy [Fla.]) at the No. 3 spot. Purdue's Laith Al-Agba and Scott Mayer secured the team point with an 8-6 win over senior Ron Nano (Great Neck, N.Y./South HS) and sophomore Henry Beam (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS) at No. 2.

Trailing in the match, the Wolverines split the six singles matches with the Boilermakers although both squads had the opportunity to claim more than just three wins. Michigan earned all three victories in three sets as Henry Beam, Danny McCain and Zach Held earned hard-fought wins. Purdue received straight-set wins by Jason Marshall (No. 1) and Scott Mayer (No. 5), and Carl McCafferty gained the deciding team point with a 7-4 win in a third-set tie-break over Ben Cox (6-4, 5-7, 7-6) at the No. 4 spot.

Michigan returns to the hardcourt on Thursday, April 13, against Region IV opponent and No. 27-ranked Notre Dame at the Varsity Tennis Center (3 p.m.).

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- Jason Marshall (PU) d. John Long, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 -- Henry Beam (U-M) d. Derek Miller, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
No. 3 -- Danny McCain (U-M) d. Andrew Wakefield, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
No. 4 -- Carl McCafferty (PU) d. Ben Cox, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 5 -- Scott Mayer (PU) d. Ron Nano, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 6 -- Zach Held (U-M) d. Laith Al-Agba, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Doubles
No. 1 -- Marshall/Wakefield (PU) d. Long/Held, 9-7
No. 2 -- Al-Agba/Mayer (PU) d. Nano/Beam, 8-6
No. 3 -- Miller/Evan Hays (PU) d. McCain/Chris Shaya, 8-5

Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423