Michigan
North Carolina State
Michigan Drops Neutral-Site Match to North Carolina State
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Nashville, Tenn. (Currey Tennis Center)
Score: North Carolina State 4, #14 Michigan 3
Records: U-M (5-1), NCSU (4-3)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 13 -- at ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Chicago, Ill.)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team was handed its first loss of the season by No. 43 North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7), falling 4-3 in a neutral-site match at Vanderbilt's Currey Tennis Center. The Wolverines (5-1) opened the match by claiming their fourth doubles point of the season, but the Wolfpack (4-3) took four of the first five singles matches to escape with the upset win.
U-M's No. 8-ranked tandem of junior Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) got back on a winning track with an 8-5 triumph over Julian Sullivan and Christian Welte at No. 1 doubles. The Wolverine pair improved to 12-8 overall with the victory.
Sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) and sophomore/freshman Drew Daniel (Overland Park, Kan./Laurel Springs School) continued their clutch play at the No. 3 spot, pulling out a 9-8(5) win over Rob Lowe and Frideric Prandecki to clinch the first team point for Michigan. The U-M duo has dropped just one of its six matches in dual-match play this season.
Madden and Daniel's victory proved to be crucial, as N.C. State's Jaime Pulgar and Jay Weinacker outlasted senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) by an 8-7(6) score at No. 2 to close out the doubles competition.
The Wolfpack evened the team score on the No. 3 singles court, where Pulgar posted a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Sroczynski. Navas pushed the Wolverines back into the lead, defeating David Chermak by a commanding 6-4, 6-2 score at No. 5.
N.C. State knotted the score once again, with 55th-ranked Weinacker handing Jung his first loss of the season at No. 1, 6-3, 6-4. Madden also suffered his first loss of the dual-match campaign with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 setback to Sullivan at No. 4, which gave the Wolfpack the lead for good. N.C. State clinched the upset win at No. 2, as 124th-ranked Welte outlasted Mazlin by a score of 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 for the fourth and decisive team point.
Daniel kept his perfect dual-match record intact, posting a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Eric Turner at No. 6 to close out the competition. Daniel leads the team in overall singles wins with 13.
The Wolverines will compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 13-16 at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, Ill. Michigan's first-round opponent for the 16-team tournament will be announced on Tuesday (Feb. 10).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #55 Jay Weinacker (NCSU) d. Jason Jung, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- #124 Christian Welte (NCSU) d. Andrew Mazlin, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3
No. 3 -- Jaime Pulgar (NCSU) d. Mike Sroczynski, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 -- Julian Sullivan (NCSU) d. Chris Madden, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
No. 5 -- George Navas (U-M) d. David Chermak, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Eric Turner, 6-2, 7-6(4)
Doubles
No. 1 -- #8 Jung/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Sullivan/Welte, 8-5
No. 2 -- Pulgar/Weinacker (NCSU) d. Mazlin/Navas, 8-7(6)
No. 3 -- Daniel/Madden (U-M) d. Rob Lowe/Frideric Prandecki, 9-8(5)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 3-5-1-4-2-6
Players Mentioned
