Weekly Release #8
2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, March 2 -- at Pepperdine (Malibu, Calif.), 11 a.m. PST
Thursday, March 9 -- at Texas (Austin, Texas), 6 p.m. CST
Saturday, March 11 -- at Texas A&M (College Station, Texas), 1 p.m. CST
This Week
The No. 36 University of Michigan men's tennis team (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten) will face No. 2 Pepperdine this Thursday (March 2) during its Spring Break trip to Malibu, Calif. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. PST start at the Ralphs-Stratus Tennis Center.
The Opponent
Pepperdine -- The No. 2-ranked Waves (13-1) won their first 13 matches of the season, including wins over then No. 1-ranked Virginia and defending national champions UCLA. Pepperdine is coming off a successful outing at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 17-20), at which they defeated Mississippi and Duke, the No. 4 and 5-ranked teams in the nation, respectively, en route to its championship final appearance against then No. 2-ranked Georgia. Although the Waves lost 4-0 to the Bulldogs, they were still awarded with their highest national team ranking (No. 2) since 1986. Pepperdine is led by senior Scott Doerner, who is ranked No. 7 nationally in singles and teams with sophomore Andre Begemann for a No. 4 listing in doubles. Senior Pedro Rico rounds out the nationally ranked Pepperdine singles players at No. 11. Head coach is led by fourth-year head coach Adam Steinberg, who has a career record of 73-24 and has led the Waves to three straight West Coast Conference Championships. Pepperdine returns seven letterwinners from last year's team, which finished at 24-3 overall and reached the quarterfinals at the NCAA Championship. Michigan is 1-3 in four all-time meetings with the Waves. The Wolverines dropped a 7-1 decision to Pepperdine in the two schools' last meeting during the 1990 season. Pepperdine on the Internet: www.pepperdinesports.com.
Wolverines Open Big Ten Season on Winning Note
Michigan opened its Big Ten Conference schedule with a 5-2 road victory over No. 62 Northwestern last Friday (Feb. 24) at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. The Wolverines claimed the doubles point for the sixth time in the last eight matches, then took three of the first four singles matches to secure their second straight conference-opening victory over the Wildcats.
Doubles Tandem Continues Success; Earns No. 9 National Ranking
Junior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and sophomore Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) continue to steamroll through their competition at No. 1 doubles, earning victories in 14 of their last 17 matches dating back to the fall season. The duo, which holds a 5-2 mark against nationally ranked opponents in 2005-06, is 26-11 in two seasons playing together, including a 19-8 dual match mark at No. 1. Hung and Maravic will look for their fourth straight victory this weekend after helping the Wolverines secure the doubles point against Northwestern (Feb. 18) with an 8-5 win over No. 30-ranked Matt Christian and Adam Schaechterle.
For their efforts, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association awarded Hung and Maravic a career-best No. 9 national ranking in doubles on Feb. 22. Hung and Maravic are the top Big Ten doubles team in the rankings behind Ohio State's Scott Green and Ross Wilson (No. 1) and Illinois' Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe (No. 5).
Maravic Returning to Form
Sophomore Matko Maravic is returning to his winning ways after dropping five of his first seven dual singles matches this season. Maravic, who upset Notre Dame's No. 14-ranked Sheeva Parbhu, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2 on Feb. 18, returned to the top of the singles lineup last Friday (Feb. 24) and knocked off Northwetern's No. 69-ranked Christian Tempke, 6-2, 6-2. Those two victories brought Maravic's season record against nationally ranked opponents to 4-9.
U-M Stepping Up Doubles Play
After dropping the doubles point in its season opener against Western Michigan (Jan. 21), Michigan has won six of the last eight doubles points. Since being swept by the Broncos the Wolverines are a combined 16-9 in their doubles matches, including a 4-3 mark against nationally ranking pairings.
Michigan Listed at No. 36 in ITA National Rankings
Michigan jumped nine spots to No. 36 in the sixth edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The Wolverines, who began the 2006 dual match season at No. 48, are the top Big Ten Conference team in the poll behind Illinois (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 12). Georgia is listed at No. 1 for the second straight week. Michigan will be tested from start to finish this season, as all but four of its 22 dual match opponents were listed in the first national rankings.
Milestone Watch ...
Junior Brian Hung reached his 50th career doubles victory against Northwestern (Feb. 24). Hung holds a career mark of 50-34, including a 34-20 dual match record at No. 1.
Sophomore Matko Maravic reached the 30-win plateau in both singles (30-26) and doubles (30-16) with his victories against Northwestern (Feb. 24).
Junior Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) is one win shy of reaching the half-century mark for his singles career. Peretz is carrying a team-best 7-2 dual match record into the weekend, having given up just four sets against his nine dual match opponents at the Nos. 4 and 5 positions. Peretz is 33-18 in dual match play for his career and 49-32 overall.
Heller and Hung Named Captains for 2006
Head coach Bruce Berque announced that juniors Ryan Heller and Brian Hung have been elected by their teammates to serve as co-captains for the 2006 dual match season. It marks the first nomination for both student-athletes.
Wolverine Quartet Earn Fall Regional Rankings
Four Michigan student-athletes were awarded with regional rankings (Dec. 2) at the conclusion of the 2005 fall season. Sophomore Matko Maravic is the top Wolverine in the Midwest Region singles rankings at No. 7 after going 6-4 during the fall, including his first-ever trip to the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships. Junior Brian Hung who is listed at No. 24, went 5-4 in the fall and reached the round of 16 at the Big Ten Conference Singles Championship. Junior Ryan Heller rounds out the singles rankings at No. 26 after claiming three qualifying victories to move into the main draw at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships. Hung and Maravic earned a doubles ranking of No. 5, while Heller and freshman Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) are listed No. 14. Both tandems went 4-3 during the fall season.
2005 Fall Season Review
Michigan began the 2005 fall season at the Tom Fallon Invitational (Sept. 23-25) and were led by freshmen Peter Aarts (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS), Mike DePietro (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) and Andrew Mazlin, who each collected three singles wins at the tournament. Junior Ryan Heller picked up three solid wins in qualifying action during his first trip to the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships (Oct. 3-9), while sophomore Matko Maravic was the top performer at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships (Oct. 20-25) after reaching the singles quarterfinals. Junior Brian Hung advanced the furthest at the Big Ten Conference Singles Championship (Nov. 12-14), reaching the round of 16 in the 64-player draw.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Bruce Berque is in his second season at the helm of the Michigan men's tennis program after leading the Wolverines to a 15-10 overall record and its highest Big Ten Conference finish (third place) since 1999. Berque was a member of the University of Illinois men's tennis coaching staff for six seasons prior to his appointment at U-M. After joining the Fighting Illini as a volunteer assistant in January of 1999, Berque served as the associate head coach under Craig Tiley for the next five years. During his tenure, Illinois captured four NCAA championships (one team, one singles and two doubles), two National Indoor team championships, six Big Ten Conference crowns and an NCAA-record 64 consecutive dual match victories. He has coached 13 players to 17 NCAA All-America nominations during his career and was named the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003.
And His Assistant ...
Ann Arbor native Michael Kosta is also in his second season as an assistant coach with the Michigan men's tennis program. Kosta played four years of tennis at Illinois (1999-2002) while Bruce Berque was the Illini's associate head coach. He finished his career at Illinois with a singles mark of 107-47, seventh on the Fighting Illini's all-time wins list, and a 37-7 record in Big Ten conference action. His doubles rsum includes an overall total of 77-41 and a 26-12 record in league competition. Kosta helped lead Illinois to four Big Ten regular season championships and three league tournament titles during his career and earned academic all-conference honors twice (2001-02).
Three Recruits Commit to Michigan for 2006-07
The University of Michigan men's tennis program announced Thursday, Nov. 17, that it has received National Letters of Intent from three student-athletes for the 2006-07 season: George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School), Matt Parks (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) and Michael Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School).
Navas has been ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in Boy's 18-and-under singles, and as high as No. 2 in the state of Florida. He has earned even higher marks in Boy's 18s doubles, with No. 1 rankings at both the national and state level. Parks has earned all-state honors in each of his three season at Troy High School. He reached the state semifinals after claiming back-to-back regional championships as a freshman and sophomore. Sroczynski has earned career-high national rankings of No. 27 in Boy's 18s and No. 6 in Boy's 16s. He has had a wealth of experience in International Tennis Federation events, capturing the singles title at the Canadian International Championships last month after winning the doubles crown at the International Hard Court Championships in August.
2004-05 Season Review
The Wolverines finished the 2005 dual match season with a 15-10 overall record and a third-place showing in the Big Ten Conference at 7-3, which was U-M's highest finish in the league standings since 1999. A number of Wolverines experienced individual success last season. Brian Hung reached the singles final at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships in October and teamed with Ryan Heller to reach the doubles semifinals at the ITA National Indoor Championships the following month. Matko Maravic became the first U-M freshman since 1997 to be named to the All-Big Ten team at the conclusion of the dual match season. Maravic also earned a conference-record four Big Ten Athlete of the Week citations during the regular season. Five Wolverines were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2004-05 and three student-athletes were also named Scholar-Athletes by the ITA last season.
On the Horizon ...
Michigan will stay on the road to face Texas and Texas A&M next weekend (March 9-11). The Wolverines will take on the Longhorns on Friday (March 9, 6 p.m. CST) at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas. U-M will then finish up against the Aggies on Sunday (March 11, 1 p.m. CST) at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
