Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Defeat Penn State in Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 58 University of Michigan men's tennis team gave Bruce Berque an exhilirating victory in his first postseason match as a head coach, as the Wolverines edged No. 62 Penn State 4-3 in the quarterfinal round of the 2005 Big Ten Conference Championship Friday afternoon (April 29) at the Champaign Park District Indoor Courts.
Michigan, the No. 3 seed, won the doubles point but fell behind 3-2 after surrendering three of the first four singles matches. With the two remaining matches entering a third set, senior David Anving (Tvaaker, Sweden/Varbergs Gymnasieskola) and sophomore Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) stepped up and posted 6-2 wins in the decisive frame to complete U-M's comeback victory.
Senior Josef Fischer (Nuernberg, Germany/Bradenton Academy) and sophomore Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) avenged last Sunday's (April 24) loss to Ryan Berger and Bradley Hunter, winning 8-6 at No. 2 to give the Wolverines the early leg up in doubles play. Anving and classmate Vinny Gossain (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) clinched the first team point at No. 3 by defeating Michael James and Chris Sherman for the second straight week, 8-4.
The No. 6 seed Nittany Lions (17-7) grabbed control of the match after straight-set singles victories at Nos. 1 and 3. Mark Barry, ranked 85th in the nation, notched a 6-0, 6-4 upset over No. 79 Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazjia) at No. 1, while Berger handed Fischer a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to put Penn State ahead 2-1.
Heller collected Michigan's first singles win at No. 4, knocking off Hunter 6-4, 7-5 to even his overall singles record to 13-13. James pulled the Nittany Lions ahead once again with a three-set decision at No. 5 over sophomore Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School), 6-1, 0-6, 6-4.
The stage was then set for Anving and Hung's late heroics. Anving battled back to beat James Dwyer at No. 5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, to knot the team score at 3-3. Hung then picked up his second straight victory over Malcolm Scatliffe at No. 2, battling through four match points en route to a 6-7(5), 7-6(10), 6-2 triumph.
The Wolverines will meet No. 2 seed Ohio State, a 4-0 winner over No. 7 seed Minnesota, in the semifinal round tomorrow (Saturday, April 30). The match is slated for a 2 p.m. CDT start at the Atkins Tennis Center. Michigan dropped a 6-1 decision to the Buckeyes during the regular season (April 16).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #85 Mark Barry (PSU) d. #79 Matko Maravic, 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -- Brian Hung (U-M) d. Malcolm Scatliffe, 6-7(5), 7-6(10), 6-2
No. 3 -- Ryan Berger (PSU) d. Josef Fischer, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Bradley Hunter, 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 -- Michael James (PSU) d. Steve Peretz, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
No. 6 -- David Anving (U-M) d. James Dwyer, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Hung/Maravic (U-M) vs. Barry/Scatliffe, 7-8 abandoned
No. 2 -- Fischer/Heller (U-M) d. Berger/Hunter, 8-6
No. 3 -- Vinny Gossain/Anving (U-M) d. Chris Sherman/James, 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 1-3-4-5-6-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
