Michigan
Virginia Commonwealth
U-M Defeats VCU, Advances to ITA National Team Indoors
2/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off Weekend (Day 2 of 2)
Score: #14 Michigan 5, Virginia Commonwealth 1
Records: U-M (4-0), VCU (7-2)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 6 -- at Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.), 2 p.m. CST
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship with a convincing 5-1 victory over No. 38-ranked Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 1) in a neutral-site match at North Carolina's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Wolverines (4-0) dropped a tight doubles point to the Rams (7-2) but stormed back to win five straight singles matches and come away from the ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 2-0 record. U-M will compete in the prestigious 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 13-16 at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, Ill.
Virginia headed into singles action with a 1-0 advantage after picking up doubles victories at Nos. 1 and 3, but senior Peter Aarts (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) evened up things with an impressive 7-5, 6-1 upset win over 98th-ranked Emil Lindgren at No. 4. It marked Aarts' first career victory over a nationally ranked opponent.
Senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) put Michigan in the lead for good with a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over Benjamin Bouhana at No. 3. Mazlin has been victorious in all three of his dual matches at the third slot this season. Sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) also defeated a nationally ranked opponent for the first time in his career, earning a 6-2, 7-6(0) decision over 107th-ranked Nicolas Vinel at No. 5 to give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead on the team scoreboard. Madden holds a team-best five-match winning streak.
Sophomore/freshman Drew Daniel (Overland Park, Kan./Laurel Springs School) provided the clinching win for the second straight day, posting a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over Bobo Delemark at No. 6 for U-M's fourth team point. Sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) continued his steady play at the top position, closing out Martin Schulhauser by a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
The Wolverines will travel to Nashville, Tenn., next weekend for a pair of non-conference matches at the Currey Tennis Center. Michigan will face host Vanderbilt on Friday (Feb. 6) at 2 p.m. CST before meeting North Carolina State in a neutral-site match on Saturday (Feb. 7) at 1 p.m. CST.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Jason Jung (U-M) d. Martin Schulhauser, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
No. 2 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) vs. Thibaut Charron, 7-5, 4-6, 2-1 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) d. Benjamin Bouhana, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 -- Peter Aarts (U-M) d. #98 Emil Lindgren, 7-5, 6-1
No. 5 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. #107 Nicolas Vinel, 6-2, 7-6(0)
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Bobo Delemark, 7-6(2), 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Bouhana/Lindgren (VCU) d. #8 Jung/Sroczynski, 8-6
No. 2 -- Mazlin/George Navas (U-M) vs. Charron/Delemark, 7-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Schulhauser/Vinel (VCU) d. Daniel/Madden, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1, Singles 4-3-5-6-1
Players Mentioned
