Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Picks Up Dominating Victory at Michigan State
3/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 56 University of Michigan men's tennis team earned its 10th victory of the dual match season and remained undefeated at 3-0 in Big Ten Conference play by cruising past No. 63 Michigan State 6-1 Wednesday evening (March 23) at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Wolverines avenged their 2004 season-ending loss to the Spartans (10-7, 2-1 Big Ten) by claiming two of three doubles matches, followed by five straight-set singles victories. The win, coupled with the women's team's 6-1 triumph in Ann Arbor tonight, gives U-M a 1-0 lead in the Pontiac Challenge Cup spring standings.
Seniors David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) and Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) continued their spectacular doubles play together at No. 3, pounding Bryan Karazia and Joseph McWilliams 8-1 to improve their season record to a perfect 4-0. The 43rd-ranked tandem of sophomore Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) were within one point of falling to Mike Brown and Andrew Formanczyk at No. 1, but the U-M pair pulled out a 9-8(7) victory to clinch the first team point for the Wolverines. Michigan came within two points of earning a doubles sweep, but senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) and sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) dropped a 9-8(5) decision to Michael Flowers and Anthony Stefani at No. 3.
Sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead in the match, defeating Kazaria 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 for his team-leading 15th singles win of 2004-05. Anving made it 3-0 in favor of Michigan, handing Brown a 6-2, 6-1 loss at No. 5.
Heller wrapped up the team victory at No. 4, as he tallied an easy 6-2, 6-3 decision over Stefani. Senior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) dealt McWilliams a 7-5, 6-4 blow at No. 2 for the Wolverines' fifth team point. Both Heller and Rubin reached their 10th singles win of 2004-05 against Michigan State. Hung provided U-M with its sixth and final point, outlasting Flowers 7-5, 6-4 to move his dual match season record to 8-5.
Competing in his first match as a nationally ranked player, No. 81 Maravic lost a heartbreaker to Formanczyk, 6-7(3), 6-1, 1-0(8), at No. 1. With the loss, Maravic's four-match winning streak came to an end.
The Wolverines close out their non-conference schedule this Saturday (March 26) when they travel to Sound Bend, Ind., to take on No. 20 Notre Dame. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) d. #81 Matko Maravic, 6-7(3), 6-1, 1-0(8)
No. 2 -- Michael Rubin (U-M) d. Joseph McWilliams, 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. Michael Flowers, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Anthony Stefani, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 -- David Anving (U-M) d. Mike Brown, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Steve Peretz (U-M) d. Bryan Karazia, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- #43 Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. Brown/Formanczyk, 9-8(7)
No. 2 -- Flowers/Stefani (MSU) d. Josef Fischer/Heller, 9-8(5)
No. 3 -- Vinny Gossain/Anving (U-M) d. Kazaria/McWilliams, 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 6-5-4-1-2-3
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the significance of the victory ... "Anytime you play against Michigan State, it's going to be a pretty emotional and heated match. They had a very big crowd and we knew it was going to be tough to play in their building. Michigan State's home courts are very fast and they've played well there so far this season. It was a good accomplishment for us to go in there and get it done. Michigan State was a little depleted tonight; a couple of their guys were out of the lineup. That definitely made it a little easier for us. Our team did a good job of keeping our composure when things got a little emotional and tense. Brian (Hung) and Matko (Maravic) did a good job in doubles tonight. We were literally one point from losing the doubles point, but those two served for match point and did a great job with it. The result of the match was obviously a positive. I try not to evaluate the match based on the result, but on the reality of how well we executed and competed. We did a good job, but it's going to have to be better if we're going to beat Notre Dame on the road on Saturday."
On the team's confidence after starting the Big Ten season at 3-0 ... ""It's been a good start for us in the Big Ten. From my understanding, Michigan hasn't had that good of a start in recent years. I do get the sense as we go along, even though we haven't broken through and gotten a big win yet, that our team really does believe that their hard work has been paying off and that we're starting to develop an identity as a very competitive team."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
