Michigan
Rice
Michigan Winds Up Spring Break Trip with Loss to Rice
3/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 41 University of Michigan men's tennis team suffered its second straight loss Monday afternoon (March 7), falling 5-2 to No. 34 Rice in a neutral-site meeting at the Barnes Tennis Center. The Wolverines (7-4, 2-0 Big Ten) surrendered a close doubles point and managed victories on two of six singles courts.
The Owls took the early advantage in doubles after Ben Harknett and Robert Searle slipped past sophomore Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) 8-6 at No. 1. Tony Haerle and Filip Zivojinovic clinched the doubles point for Rice by defeating senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) and sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) 8-3 at No. 2.
Senior Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) and sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) seemed to have their match at No. 3 in hand, serving for the match at 7-5. However, Rodrigo Gabriel and Jason Mok broke serve and eventually stole the match in a tiebreaker, 9-8(2), to complete a doubles sweep for the Owls.
Maravic overpowered his opponent at No. 2 singles, blowing past Haerle 6-4, 6-1 to even the team score at 1-1. Rice regained the lead once again after 45th-ranked Searle dealt senior Michael Rubin (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic HS) a 6-3, 7-5 loss at No. 1. The Owls then came within one victory of claiming the match after Mok dispatched senior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) 7-5, 6-4 at No. 6.
Heller put forth a gutsy effort before surrendering his match to No. 96 Ralph Knupfer at No. 4 to seal the team win for Rice. After claiming the first set 6-3, Knupfer was serving for the match at 5-4. Heller withstood a flurry of match points and eventually won the next two games, but Knupfen came out on top with a 7-6(4) decision to seal the victory.
Mok capped off the scoring for the Owls by defeating Peretz 7-5, 6-2 at No. 5, while Hung provided Michigan with its final point of the afternoon by outlasting Harknett 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(5) at No. 3.
The Wolverines will look to get back on track when they host a doubleheader at the Varsity Tennis Center this Saturday (March 12). U-M will face Butler at 10 a.m. and finish up against Indiana State at 6 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #45 Robert Searle (Rice) d. #100 Michael Rubin, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 -- Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Tony Haerle, 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. Ben Harknett, 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(5)
No. 4 -- #96 Ralph Knupfer (Rice) d. Ryan Heller, 6-3, 7-6(4)
No. 5 -- Jason Mok (Rice) d. Steve Peretz, 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 -- Rodrigo Gabriel (Rice) d. David Anving, 7-5, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Searle/Harknett (Rice) d. Hung/Maravic, 8-6
No. 2 -- Filip Zivojinovic/Haerle (Rice) d. Josef Fischer/Heller, 8-3
No. 3 -- Gabriel/Mok (Rice) d. Vinny Gossain/Peretz, 9-8(2)
Order of Finish: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 2-1-6-4-5-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
