Heller Wins Doubles, Gains Singles Semis at ITA Event
7/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS), who will be a sophomore on the 2004-05 University of Michigan men's tennis team, competed at the first leg of the ITA Midwest Summer Circuit, held July 10-13 at U-M's Varsity Tennis Center. Heller reached the semifinal round in the 64-player singles draw and teamed with Ohio State's Drew Eberly to win the 32-team doubles competition.
Heller, the No. 1-seeded player in singles, made easy work of his first-round opponent, defeating Butler's Chris Peric 6-0, 6-0 to advance. In the round of 32, Heller withstood a comeback by Ohio State's Dominic Ozanne to win 7-5, 1-6, 10-4. Heller kept on rolling through the bracket, posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Claremont McKenna's William Ellison to move on.
North Carolina State's Ryan Johnson looked to bounce Heller from the tournament, but Johnson fell victim by a 6-4, 6-3 score in the quarterfinals. However, eventual champion Brady Crosby of Western Michigan did spoil Heller's run with a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the semifinal match.
Heller and Eberly, the top-seeded doubles tandem in the draw, shut out Indianapolis' Alan Dowell and Justin Linder 8-0 after a first-round bye. Heller and Eberly moved into the semifinal round with an 8-5 defeat of Valparaiso's Ben Dunham-Freer and Michael Shideler. The pair then reached the final due to a default by Northwestern's Matthew Christian and Dennis Winstead.
Heller and Eberly capped off the tournament with an 8-4 victory over the No. 4-seeded tandem of Nikolas Cromydas (Glenview, Ill.) and Purdue's Colin Foster in the final.
Heller completed his first season at U-M with an overall singles record of 20-14 (12-8 in dual match competition) and an overall doubles mark of 16-14 (14-8 in dual match competition).
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
