Michigan
Drake
Michigan Opens NCAAs With Sweep of Drake
5/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team earned its first NCAA Championship victory since 2000, defeating No. 52-ranked Drake 4-0 in first-round action Friday afternoon (May 11) at the University of Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed Wolverines (20-6) captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and secured straight-set victories at the bottom three singles positions to clinch their first 20-win campaign since 1988. U-M's victory also snapped the No. 3 seed Bulldogs' (23-3) 22-match winning streak that dated back to Feb. 10.
Senior Ryan Heller (Northbrook, Illinois/Glenbrook North HS) and sophomore Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) used an early break to go up 2-1 against Ivan Mendoza and Sergi Vila at No. 2 doubles. The Wolverine tandem later gained another break en route to its 8-4 victory. It was Heller and Mazlins 16th dual match win of the season (16-7).
Freshmen George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) also earned a break in the third game of their match against Guilherme Marsiglia and Bokang Setshogo at No. 3. The U-M duo held serve for the remainder of the match, locking up an 8-6 triumph to clinch the doubles point for the Wolverines. Navas and Sroczynski have won nine of their last 11 matches completed.
Michigans No. 10-ranked pairing of senior Brian Hung (Hong Kong, China/Sagemont Virtual School) and junior Matko Maravic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) was leading Dalibor Pavic and Maor Zirkin by a score of 6-5 at No. 1 when the doubles point was decided.
Mazlin wasted little time in giving the Maize and Blue a 2-0 advantage, handily defeating Marsiglia by a 6-2, 6-0 margin at No. 4 singles. Mazlin has won a team-best 18 dual matches in 2007.
Sroczynski followed suit, closing out Setshogo by a commanding score of 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 a few minutes after Mazlins triumph to provide Michigan with a 3-0 lead. Sroczynski has been victorious in 14 of 17 dual matches this year.
U-Ms young crop of players continued to come up big in the clutch, with Navas clinching the team win with a 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph over Mendoza at No. 6. Navas holds a team-high six-match winning streak dating back to April 1 and he remains undefeated at the sixth position at 5-0.
The Wolverines will look to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time under the current 64-team format when it takes on host and No. 10-ranked Illinois in the second round on Saturday (May 12). The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CDT start at the Atkins Tennis Center.
Singles
No. 1 -- #40 Brian Hung (U-M) vs. Maor Zirkin, 7-6(4), 4-5 (abandoned)
No. 2 -- #50 Matko Maravic (U-M) vs. Sergi Vila, 3-6, 6-1, 2-4 (abandoned)
No. 3 -- Ryan Heller (U-M) vs. Dalibor Pavic, 6-4, 3-6, 1-4 (abandoned)
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Gilherme Marsiglia, 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. Bokang Setshogo, 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Ivan Mendoza, 7-6(4), 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #10 Hung/Maravic (U-M) vs. Pavic/Zirkin, 6-5 (abandoned)
No. 2 -- Heller/Mazlin (U-M) d. Mendoza/Vila, 8-4
No. 3 -- Navas/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Marsiglia/Setshogo, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 4-5-6
Players Mentioned
