Michigan
All-American Main Draw (Day 2)
Hung and Maravic Advance to All-American Semifinals
10/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Event: Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships
Scoring: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Oct. 7 -- Main Draw (Day 3) at Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships (Tulsa, Okla.), 11:00 a.m. CDT
Hung and Maravic Advance to All-American Semifinals
TULSA, Okla. -- Senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) of the University of Michigan men's tennis team have earned a berth in the semifinals of the doubles main draw at the 2006 Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships after posting a pair of dominating victories Friday afternoon (Oct. 6) atTulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Wolverine tandem is now just two wins away from claiming Michigan's first individual national championship in tennis since 1989, whenMaliVai Washingtondefeated teammate Dan Goldberg for the singles title at the ITA National Indoor Championships.
After collecting a fairly easy 8-2 victory in the first round on Thursday (Oct. 5), Hung and Maravic came out Friday and showed that they belonged among the elite doubles teams in college tennis. The fifth-ranked U-M duo handily defeated host Tulsa's No. 48-ranked pair of Arnau Brugues and Federico Soriano by a score of 8-4 in the second round to start the day.
After an hour break, Hung and Maravic returned to the court with the same intensity they brought in their first two matches. The victim this time was Virginia's No. 23-ranked team of Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey, who fell by a margin of 8-3. It marked the second time in 2006 that Hung and Maravic have knocked off the Cavalier duo, as they earned a 9-8(6) decision during dual match action on Feb. 5.
Hung and Maravic will face Louisiana State's No. 28-ranked pair of James Cluskey and Ken Skupski in the semifinals tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 7) at 11 a.m. CDT. Should they advance to the championship match, they will either face Georgia's No. 9-ranked Luis Flores and John Isner or San Diego State's No. 21 Markus Dickhardt and Chris Groh on Sunday (Oct. 8, time TBA).
The Polo Ralph Lauren Championships are the first of three national championship events during the 2006-07 collegiate tennis season, with the other two being the ITA National Indoor Championships (Nov. 2-5) and the NCAA Championships (May 11-28).
Following are match-by-match results:
Brian Hung/Matko Maravic
First Round -- d. #22 Jakob Klaeson/Robbye Poole (Mississippi), 8-2
Second Round -- d. #48 Arnau Brugues/Federico Soriano (Tulsa), 8-4
Quarterfinals -- d. #23 Somdev Devvarman/Treat Huey (Virginia), 8-3
Semifinals (Saturday, 11 a.m. CDT) -- vs. #28 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (Louisiana State)
Q U O T E S
U-M Assistant Coach Sean Maymi
On Brian Hung and Matko Maravic's strong play today... "They're both pretty pumped up right now. They played very well and we're all pretty excited. They had a high percentage of first serves and they volleyed pretty well. They were just very consistent and very solid. They were not beating themselves but instead making the teams have to come up with the shots. They're just playing solid tennis right now. They returned well against a Virginia team that I thought served great. The guys just battled and really fought hard to get a couple breaks."
U-M Senior Brian Hung
On how it feels to make it to the semifinals at a national tournament... "It fells pretty good, but we don't want to be content. Our goal is to be the last one standing."
On the keys to their success this week... "I think we're doing the basic things we need to do. If we keep focus and continue to do those things, then I think we'll do well. We placed our volleys very well and just stuck to our game plan. We had a high percentage of first serves also. We just didn't try to do too much out there, and it paid off for us."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
