Michigan
Ball State
Michigan Picks Up Dominating Win Over Ball State
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and sophomore Scott Bruckmann (Sarasota, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) were victorious in their season debut as a doubles team, handily defeating Jarrod Epkey and Joe Valley by a score of 8-3 at No. 3. Maravic now holds the team lead in overall doubles wins with 21, while Bruckmann remains perfect in dual match play at 4-0. The pair is 2-0 for its career, having earned one win at the third spot last season in addition to tonight's victory.
Soon after Michigan's triumph on the No. 3 court, senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) and sophomore Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) recorded a late break to finish off Joe Epkey and Jose Perdomo by an 8-5 margin at No. 1, clinching the doubles point for the Maize and Blue. It marked Heller and Mazlin's second-career win at the top position (2-0) and moved the duo's overall season record to 10-3, including a dual match mark of 7-2.
Freshmen George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) were on serve with Aaron Phillips and Jorge Rodriguez through the entire match at No. 2, but Wolverine tandem proved to be too strong in the tiebreaker, winning 7-5 to wrap up U-M's seventh doubles sweep in its last 11 outings. Navas and Sroczynski moved their dual match record to 7-3, including a perfect 2-0 mark at the second slot.
Heller and Navas each took 52 minutes to finish off their singles opponents, giving Michigan a commanding 3-0 lead in the match. Heller dominated Phillips by a 6-1, 6-2 score at No. 2, while Navas easily took care of Bret Berryman by a 6-1, 6-3 margin at No. 4. Heller has won eight of 10 dual matches this season, including three straight dating to March 1. Navas snapped a four-match losing skid and moved his dual match record to 4-5.
The 52nd-ranked Maravic clinched the team victory for the Wolverines, defeating Joe Epkey by a score of 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 to improve to 9-3 on the dual match season and 18-7 overall. It was Maravic's sixth match-clinching triumph of the year.
Minutes after Maravic's win, Mazlin closed out Perdomo 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3 to put Michigan on top 5-0. Mazlin continued his impressive run through the dual match season, improving his record to 8-2. He needs two more victories to match his freshman season total of 18 (16-5).
Bruckmann also continued his steady singles play, disposing of Jimmy Brannon by a 6-1, 7-5 margin at No. 5 to push the U-M lead to 6-0. Bruckmann kept his unblemished dual match record intact at 4-0.
Sroczynski sealed the overall sweep for the Maize and Blue, using a late rally to knock off Vallee at No. 6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 1-0(8). Sroczynski was down 7-4 in the super-tiebreaker set but battled back to win five straight points to clinch his sixth dual match win in eight tries.
The Wolverines return to the Varsity Tennis Center Saturday (March 10) to host Penn State at 6 p.m. The match against the Nittany Lions is the second half of a doubleheader at the Varsity Tennis Center, as the U-M women's team hosts Marquette at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #52 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Joe Epkey, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Aaron Phillips, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Jose Perdomo, 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Bret Berryman, 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 -- Scott Bruckmann (U-M) d. Jimmy Brannon, 6-1, 7-5
No. 6 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Joe Vallee, 6-4, 6-7(5), 1-0(8)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Heller/Mazlin (U-M) d. Joe Epkey/Perdomo, 8-5
No. 2 -- Navas/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Phillips/Rodriguez, 8-7(5)
No. 3 -- Bruckmann/Maravic (U-M) d. Jarrod Epkey/Vallee, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 2-4-1-3-5-6
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
