Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan Caps Regular Season with Win Over Badgers
4/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team finished the regular season on a good note, defeating Wisconsin 6-1 Sunday afternoon (April 20) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (9-12, 3-7 Big Ten) dominated singles action, taking all six matches after dropping the doubles point to begin the day.
The Badgers earned the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Ward Bortz and Blake Baratz defeated junior Anthony Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet HS) and sophomore Josef Fischer (Nuremberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy, Fla.) 8-1 at No. 3 and Alexander Kasarov and David Hippee clinched the point with a 9-7 win over senior Chris Rolf (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) and sophomore Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) at No. 1. Senior Chris Shaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Saddlebrook Academy, Fla.) and sophomore Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) prevented the Wisconsin doubles sweep with an 8-2 victory over Scott Green and Alex Conti at No. 2.
In his final home match at U-M, Shaya coasted to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Baratz at No. 3 singles to even the score at one apiece. Gossain kept things going with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Conti at No. 6. Moments later, Fischer gave the Wolverines a 3-1 advantage with his 7-6(5), 6-1 victory at No. 5 over Bortz.
Sophomore David Anving's (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win over Green at No. 4 proved to be the clincher for the second consecutive match. Michigan wrapped things up with victories at the top two spots. Jackson came back to defeat Hippee 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Rubin earned his team-leading 25th singles win of the season with a 6-2, 6-7(10), 6-4 decision over Kasarov at No. 1.
The Wolverines await seeds for the upcoming Big Ten Championship hosted by Northwestern University. The team tournament will be played April 24-27 at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #121 Michael Rubin (U-M) d. Alexander Kasarov, 6-2, 6-7(10), 6-4
No. 2 -- Anthony Jackson (U-M) d. David Hippee, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 -- Chris Shaya (U-M) d. Blake Baratz, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 -- David Anving (U-M) d. Scott Green, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
No. 5 -- Josef Fischer (U-M) d. Ward Bortz, 7-6(5), 6-1
No. 6 -- Vinny Gossain (U-M) d. Alex Conti, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- Kasarov/Hippee (UW) d. Chris Rolf/Gossain, 9-7
No. 2 -- M. Rubin/Shaya (U-M) d. Green/Conti, 8-2
No. 3 -- Bortz/Baratz (UW) d. Jackson/Fischer, 8-1
Contact: Marc Ressler, David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
