Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Rallies Past Michigan State for Fourth Straight Win
3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #10 Michigan 5, Michigan State 2
Records: U-M (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten), Michigan State(11-6, 0-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, March 15 -- at Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.), Noon
Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team extended its winning streak to four matches with a 5-2 victory over intrastate rival Michigan State Wednesday evening (March 12) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) dropped the doubles point for the just the third time in 12 matches this season, but U-M maintained its composure and rebounded to gain wins on five of the six singles courts.
Junior Andrew Mazlin(Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and freshman Chris Madden(Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) got the Wolverines off on the right foot by earning an 8-3 decision over John Allare and Tyler Sauerbrey at No. 3 doubles. The two teams were on serve through the first four games before Mazlin and Madden took control and claimed six of the remaining seven games to improve to 9-2 in dual-match play. The pair has won 13 of 17 matches overall in 2007-08.
Michigan State's No. 19-ranked duo of Adam Monich and Nick Rinks drew the Spartans even with an 8-4 victory over U-M's No. 24-ranked tandem of senior Matko Maravic(Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gimnazija) and sophomore George Navas(Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) at No. 2. The MSU pair took charge midway through the match, erasing a 3-2 deficit by taking six of the final seven games.
Alex Forger and Billy Gardner provided the Spartans with a 1-0 lead thanks to their tight 9-7 win over U-M's No. 7-ranked duo of sophomore Mike Sroczynski(Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) and freshman Jason Jung(Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) at No. 1. The two teams went back and forth until Forger and Gardner broke serve to go ahead 8-7. The Spartan tandem then held serve to give Sroczynski and Jung just their third loss in 19 matches this season.
The Michigan State lead was short-lived, as Madden came out blazing in singles play and quickly defeated John Stratton by a 6-1, 6-1 count at No. 6 to even the match at 1-1. Madden has been victorious in all but one of eight matches at the sixth position this season.
Maravic and Navas got their revenge with straight-set singles wins, as the two almost simultaneously closed out their respective opponents to vault Michigan into a 3-1 lead. The 52nd-ranked Maravic posted a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Forger at No. 2, while Navas finished off Scott Rasmussen by a 6-1, 6-2 score at No. 5.
Jung won his third straight match and evened his dual-match record at 6-6 thanks to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Allare at No. 3 that clinched the team win for the Wolverines. Mazlin capped off the scoring with a super-tiebreaker triumph, as he won the final four points in a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(8) decision over Monich at No. 4. Mazlin holds a team-best 9-2 record in dual-match play.
The Wolverines will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Pennsylvania on Saturday (March 15). The match is scheduled for a noon start at Levy Tennis Pavilion.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #106 Nick Rinks (Michigan State) d. Mike Sroczynski, 6-4, 7-6(9)
No. 2 -- #52 Matko Maravic (U-M) d. Alex Forger, 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Jason Jung (U-M) d. John Allare, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Adam Monich, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(8)
No. 5 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Scott Rasmussen, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. John Stratton, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- #19 Monich/Rinks (Michigan State) d. #24 Maravic/Navas, 8-4
No. 2 -- Forger/Billy Gardner (Michigan State) d. #7 Jung/Sroczynski, 9-7
No. 3 -- #51 Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Allare/Tyler Sauerbrey, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 6-2-5-3-1-4
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
