Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Falls to No. 9 Illinois in Big Ten Semifinals
4/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 9-ranked Illinois in the Big Ten Championship semifinals Saturday afternoon (April 28) at the Schwartz Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed Wolverines (19-6) were unable to duplicate April 6th's upset victory over the No. 3 seed Fighting Illini (18-7), as U-M lost the doubles point and three of four completed singles matches. It marks the third straight year that the Maize and Blue has lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
After Illinois posted a pair of convincing doubles wins at Nos. 1 and 2 to clinch the first team point, senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) drew Michigan even with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ruben Gonzales at No. 4 singles. Heller is tied for the team lead in dual match wins (17) in his final collegiate season.
The Illini pulled ahead for good thanks to Brandon Davis' 6-3, 6-3 triumph over senior Steve Peretz (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Dwight School) at No. 6. GD Jones handed freshman Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) just his third loss in 16 dual matches, winning 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 at No. 5 to give Illinois a commanding 3-1 lead.
Ryan Rowe, ranked 23rd in the nation, provided the clincher for the Illini at No. 2. His 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-2 decision over junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) sent Illinois to the Big Ten Championship title match for the ninth straight year.
The Wolverines will head home to Ann Arbor and await the selection of the tournament field for the 2007 NCAA Championships (May 11-28). Selections for the 64-team field will be announced Tuesday (May 1), with participants in the singles and doubles championships revealed the following day.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #48 Brian Hung (U-M) vs. #5 Kevin Anderson, 5-7, 6-3, 1-1 (abandoned)
No. 2 -- #23 Ryan Rowe (ILL) d. #49 Matko Maravic, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-2
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) vs. Marc Spicijaric, 6-4, 6-7(4), 4-2 (abandoned)
No. 4 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) d. Ruben Gonzales, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 -- GD Jones (ILL) d. Mike Sroczynski, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3
No. 6 -- Brandon Davis (ILL) d. Steve Peretz, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #9 Anderson/Rowe (ILL) d. #8 Hung/Maravic, 8-2
No. 2 -- Davis/Gonzales d. #57 Heller/Mazlin, 8-3
No. 3 -- Navas/Sroczynski (U-M) vs. Jones/Spicijaric, 5-7 (abandoned)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2, Singles 4-6-5-2
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the difference between the two Illinois matches this season ... "Illinois had a full roster this time. They were missing one player (Ruben Gonzales) the first time we played them. That definitely helped them today. I think we played better tennis the first time. We didn't play badly today; we just didn't play well enough to beat a team of their caliber. Illinois really played well in doubles today. There were some bright spots in the match. Brian Hung played very well; he was tied 1-1 in the third set against one of the best players in the country. Andrew Mazlin was also doing a great job in his match. Overall, we just didn't play well enough today."
On how this match will help them as they head into the NCAAs ... "This will give us motivation to play our best tennis. Our confidence level in each other is still very high, and I feel like everyone in the lineup is close to playing their best tennis. We have the advantage of being done with school and being able to focus completely on our tennis and improving. We have to do a good job in practice and have a great hunger to get better."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
