Michigan
Pepperdine
Michigan Drops Spring Break Match at No. 15 Pepperdine
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Malibu, Calif. (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Score: #15 Pepperdine 5, #18 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (6-5), Pepperdine (8-5)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 27 -- vs. Washington (Malibu, Calif.), 1 p.m. PST
MALIBU, Calif. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 15 Pepperdine on Wednesday (Feb. 25) at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. The Wolverines (6-5) fell short in a tightly contested doubles competition and were only able to claim victories at the bottom two singles positions.
The Waves (8-5) struck first in doubles, with the 12th-ranked tandem of Omar Altmann and Bassam Beidas earning an 8-1 victory at No. 1 to spoil the career debut of senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and junior Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School).
Sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) and sophomore/freshman Drew Daniel (Overland Park, Kan./Laurel Springs School) went up a break at 4-2 in their No. 3 match against Hugh Clarke and Alex Llompart, but the Pepperdine duo broke U-M's serve two times in a row and went on to secure an 8-6 victory that clinched the first team point for the Waves.
Competing together for the first time in their careers, junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) posted an 8-4 win over Mahmoud Kamel and Alejandro Moreno at No. 2 to prevent Pepperdine from wrapping up the doubles sweep.
Daniel evened the team score with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over Moreno at No. 6 singles. It was Daniel's team-leading ninth dual-match win of the season. The Waves pulled ahead 2-1 with a straight-set decision at No. 4, but Madden knotted things up again with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Clarke at No. 5. Madden has won seven of his 10 dual matches this year.
Pepperdine came out on top in the three remaining matches to clinch the team victory. Mazlin put up a good fight against 26th-ranked Altmann at No. 2 before falling in a super-tiebreak, 6-7(5), 6-4, 1-0(6).
The Wolverines return to the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Friday (Feb. 27) for a 1 p.m. PST neutral-site match against Washington.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #44 Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine) d. #109 Jason Jung, 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 -- #26 Omar Altmann (Pepperdine) d. #100 Andrew Mazlin, 6-7(5), 6-4, 1-0(6)
No. 3 -- #114 Alex Llompart (Pepperdine) d. Mike Sroczynski, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 -- Mahmoud Kamel (Pepperdine) d. Peter Aarts, 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. Hugh Clarke, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Alejandro Moreno, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #12 Altmann/Beidas (Pepperdine) d. Mazlin/Sroczynski, 8-1
No. 2 -- Jung/George Navas (U-M) d. Kamel/Moreno, 8-4
No. 3 -- Clarke/Llompart (Pepperdine) d. Daniel/Madden, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 6-4-5-1-3-2
Players Mentioned
