Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Unable to Snap Illinois' Conference Win Streak
4/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 65 University of Michigan men's tennis team was unable to give Bruce Berque a victory in his head coaching debut against his former team, as No. 2 Illinois came away with a 6-1 win Sunday afternoon (April 10) on the Varsity Tennis Center's outdoor courts. Berque, who served as the Fighting Illini's associate head coach for the past five seasons, received a straight-set singles victory from senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) for the Wolverines' (12-8, 5-2 Big Ten) lone point of the match. The Illini (16-3, 6-0 Big Ten) have won 45 straight Big Ten matches dating back to the 2002 season.
Illinois got off to a quick start in doubles, with Chris Martin and Ryan Rowe earning a convincing 8-2 victory over seniors David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) and Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) at No. 3. Fischer and sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) went game for game with Pramod Dabir and Ryler DeHeart at No. 2, but the Illini duo eventually pulled out an 8-6 win to clinch the first team point.
Sophomore Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and freshman Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) supplied U-M with the momentum heading into singles play, outlasting Kevin Anderson and GD Jones 8-6 at No. 1. Hung and Maravic have won eight of their last nine matches dating back to March 12.
A pair of straight-set singles victories at Nos. 3 and 2 gave the Illini a 3-0 lead in the match. The 42nd-ranked Anderson handed Heller a 6-0, 6-1 defeat, while the 33rd-ranked Jones dealt Maravic a 6-2, 6-2 loss.
Fischer prevented Illinois from claiming the team win by earning a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Martin at No. 6. Fischer extends his winning streak to three matches and improves his overall singles record to 11-5, including a 6-2 mark against dual match opponents.
In a rematch of this past fall's ITA Midwest Regional final, the No. 5-ranked DeHeart earned a straight-set win over Hung at No. 1 to preserve the team victory for Illinois. Hung was up a break throughout a majority of the first frame and was serving for the set at 5-4, but DeHeart broke serve and went on to win the next three games and the set 7-5. DeHeart then clinched his match by a 6-3 score in the second set.
Anving and sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) put forth valiant efforts on the two remaining singles courts, but both fell to their opponents in super-tiebreakers. Anving dropped a tough 6-3, 6-7(6), 1-0(6) decision to Rowe at No. 6, while Peretz was unable to finish his comeback against Ruben Gonzales at No. 4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(5).
The Wolverines close out their road schedule next Saturday (April 16) at Ohio State. The match is scheduled for a noon start at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #5 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) d. Brian Hung, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 -- #33 GD Jones (ILL) d. #119 Matko Maravic, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -- #42 Kevin Anderson (ILL) d. Ryan Heller, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 -- Ruben Gonzales (ILL) d. Steve Peretz, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(5)
No. 5 -- Josef Fischer (U-M) d. Chris Martin, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 -- Ryan Rowe (ILL) d. David Anving, 6-3, 6-7(6), 1-0(6)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Hung/Maravic (U-M) d. Anderson/Jones, 8-6
No. 2 -- Pramod Dabir/DeHeart (ILL) d. Fischer/Heller, 8-6
No. 3 -- Martin/Rowe (ILL) d. Vinny Gossain/Anving, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 3-2-5-1-6-4
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
