Michigan
Louisiana State
Wolverines Unable to Knock Off No. 20 Louisiana State
3/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The No. 48 University of Michigan men's tennis team was unable to upset No. 20 Louisiana State Sunday afternoon (March 20), falling 5-2 to the Tigers at the WT "Dub" Robinson Tennis Center. The Wolverines (9-5, 2-0 Big Ten) earned a pair of solid singles victories at Nos. 1 and 3 but managed just one win in doubles the rest of the way. The match could have easily gone in U-M's favor, as two of four LSU singles victories went to three sets.
Freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and sophomore Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) were responsible for all three of Michigan's wins against Louisiana State, with each knocking off ranked opponents in singles before teaming together to beat one of the nation's top doubles tandems.
After LSU earned straight-set singles victories at Nos. 5 and 2, Maravic provided the Wolverines with their first team point and earned the biggest collegiate win of his young career by upsetting No. 6-ranked Ken Skupski 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 1. Maravic is undefeated at the top singles position (3-0) and moves into sole possession of the team lead in overall (15-8) and dual match (10-4) victories in 2004-05.
Sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) was unable to complete a comeback in his No. 4 match against Peter Richman, falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to allow LSU to come within one match of claiming the team win.
Hung kept the Wolverines in contention with a crucial three-set victory at No. 3, defeating No. 99 Jason Hazley 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Hung holds a 5-1 record at the third spot this season and has won four of his last five matches at the position.
Senior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) was unable to come away with a victory at No. 6, as Paul White came back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the match for Louisiana State.
With the outcome already decided, the Tigers posted doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3 to pick up the final team point of the afternoon. Hung and Maravic earned a huge win at No. 1, upsetting the No. 6-ranked team of Skupski and Mark Growcott to prevent a doubles sweep for LSU. Hung and Maravic improve to 5-3 at the top doubles slot in 2005.
The Wolverines continue their five-match road stretch Wednesday (March 23) when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face Michigan State. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Matko Maravic (U-M) d. #10 Ken Skupski, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2 -- Mark Growcott (LSU) d. Michael Rubin, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. #99 Jason Hazley, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 -- Peter Richman (LSU) d. Ryan Heller, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- Danny Bryan (LSU) d. Steve Peretz, 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 -- Paul White (LSU) d. David Anving, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. #6 Growcott/Skupski, 8-5
No. 2 -- Colt Gaston/Bryan (LSU) d. Josef Fischer/Heller, 8-4
No. 3 -- Richman/White (LSU) d. Vinny Gossain/Peretz, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 5-2-1-4-3-6
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Bruce Berque
On today's match ... "I thought our guys did a good job today. We competed very well and we're really starting to develop an identity as a team. We still have to make a lot of improvements and a lot of hard work has to be done if we want to consistently compete against accomplished teams like LSU. Competing against tough teams on the road can only help us in the long run."
On the play of Matko Maravic and Brian Hung ... "Matko played very well and went out there and really executed what we've been teaching him in practice. Brian did a good job of hanging on in his match, picking up a good victory against a solid opponent. In doubles, the two were aggressive the entire match. In earlier matches, they would start out aggressive but would let up a bit as time went on. But today, their level of aggressiveness and intensity was very steady."
On the success Matko Maravic has achieved in his first season ... "Matko has really emerged as a leader on this team. His no-fear attitude and the emotion he displays on the court is something that his teammates are able to recognize and feed off of. Matko doesn't have the demeanor of a typical freshman. He's willing to go out there and do whatever it takes to win."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
