Weekly Release #11
4/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Saturday, April 7 -- Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
Sunday, April 8 -- Ohio State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
Wednesday, April 11 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 15 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 10:30 a.m. CDT
Homestand Continues
The University of Michigan men's tennis squad continues its homestand with a pair of Big Ten Conference matches at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines host Penn State Saturday (April 7, noon) and follow with a Sunday (April 8, noon) match against Ohio State.
Michigan at the Varsity Tennis Center
With its thrilling 4-3 comeback win April 1 against Wisconsin, the men's netters have compiled a 7-2 record at the Varsity Tennis Center this season. The Wolverines are an impressive 31-10 overall at the five-year-old facility, and have posted victories in 23 of their last 29 matches. U-M needs two victories in its last four home matches to equal the school record of nine wins set during the 1998-99 season (9-2 mark).
Wolverines and Nittany Lions
Michigan and Penn State will hit the hardcourt against each other for the 14th time Saturday (April 7). The Wolverines hold a commanding 12-1 advantage in the all-time series, and have won nine consecutive matches against the Nittany Lions. In a recent series started with PSU joining the Big Ten Conference, Michigan holds a 10-1 edge (the two schools did play a match during both the 1923-24 and 1924-25 season, with the Wolverines winning both). U-M has a 5-0 record all-time in Ann Arbor and is 2-0 at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan won a 5-1 match last season in State College, Pa.
Michigan vs. Ohio State
The Wolverines and Buckeyes will meet for the 87th time Sunday (April 8). Michigan holds a commanding 71-13-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won eight straight matches against Ohio State (last loss was a 4-2 match at the 1993 Big Ten Championships). The Wolverines won a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory last year in Columbus, winning four of the six singles matches after dropping the doubles point. U-M has a 2-0 mark against the Buckeyes at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Action Jackson
Freshman Anthony Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet HS) enters the Penn State and Ohio State matches in the midst of an outstanding first season for the Wolverines. Jackson leads the team in overall singles wins (18-9), overall winning percentage (.667), dual match victories (10-4) and dual match winning percentage (.714) and tops the squad with a 3-1 Big Ten Conference mark. He clinched the Wolverines' 4-3 comeback victory against Wisconsin (April 1) with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Scott Rutherford at the No. 5 singles spot. Jackson has won 13 of his last 18 matches this season but has not put together back-to-back wins in his last eight contests. He needs a pair of victories this weekend to reach the 20-win plateau on the year.
Novak Nears 20-Win Plateau
Junior co-captain Greg Novak (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Cardinal Newman HS) heads into this week's action looking to inch closer to the 20-win plateau. Novak has compiled a 17-16 overall singles record and has won three of his last five contests. He shifted the momentum in U-M's 4-3 come-from-behind victory against Wisconsin with a critical 6-4, 6-3 win against Wisconsin's Dustin Taylor at the No. 4 spot. Novak has a 6-8 record in dual matches and is 12-11 against regional opponents.
Cox Nears .500 Mark
Junior No. 2 singles player Ben Cox (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) heads into the Penn State and Ohio State matches within two victories of the .500 mark for the season. Cox has compiled an 11-13 overall singles record but has tallied a 6-6 dual match record and is 7-8 against regional foes. He posted an impressive 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory against Wisconsin's Stefan Reist (April 1) to raise his Big Ten Conference dual match record to 2-2 on the year. Cox has registered a 57-31 singles record and is 40-15 in dual match competition during his career.
McCain Nears 50th Singles Win
Junior Danny McCain (Largo, Fla./Canterbury School) looks to continue his winning ways as the Wolverines face Penn State and Ohio State this weekend. McCain has won two of his last three matches, with the lone setback coming in a three-set battle at Illinois (6-3, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Amer Delic). McCain reached double digits in wins April 1, beating Wisconsin's Dustin Friedman at the No. 3 singles spot (6-4, 6-3). McCain has compiled a 10-16 overall singles record and is 6-8 in dual match competition this season. He has compiled a 46-45 career singles record and is 31-26 in dual matches.
Mid-Week Match with Arch Rival Michigan State
The men's tennis squad will play a mid-week match Wednesday (April 11) in East Lansing, Mich., against in-state rival Michigan State. The match will be played at the MSU Tennis Facility starting at 6 p.m. The Wolverines will then travel to Iowa City, Iowa, for a Sunday matchup (April 15, 10:30 a.m. CDT) with Iowa at the Klotz Tennis Courts.
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
