Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan Falls at No. 24 Wisconsin in Fourth Straight Nailbiter
3/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
Score: #24 Wisconsin 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (6-12, 0-3 Big Ten), Wisconsin (12-5, 1-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, March 29 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 1 p.m. CDT
MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 51-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team suffered its fourth straight 4-3 defeat, this time at the hands of No. 24 Wisconsin on Saturday (March 28) at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Wolverines (6-12, 0-3 Big Ten), who have been involved in a total of seven 4-3 matches this season, held a narrow 3-2 advantage before the Badgers (12-5, 1-2 Big Ten) completed three-set victories at the top two singles positions to steal the team win and snap their five-match losing skid to the Maize and Blue.
Teaming together for the first time in dual-match play this season, senior Peter Aarts (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) and junior Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) posted a solid 8-4 victory over Michael Dierberger and Patrick Pohlmann at No. 3 to give U-M the early momentum in doubles. Michael Muskievicz and Luke Rassow-Kantor pulled out an 8-6 decision over senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) at No. 2 to even things up. It was Mazlin and Madden's first loss in seven dual-match outings this season.
In the decisive match at No. 1, Wisconsin's No. 17-ranked pairing of Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka outlasted Michigan's No. 26-ranked duo of junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) in a tiebreak, 9-8(3), to give the Badgers the first team point.
Wisconsin opened singles action with a straight-set victory at No. 3, but Madden narrowed the gap to 2-1 with a dominating 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Dierberger at No. 4. It marked his 10th dual-match win of the season (10-6). Aarts and Navas stepped up and posted back-to-back victories at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, to give the Wolverines their first lead of the day at 3-2. Aarts defeated Peter Marrack, 6-3, 7-5, for his first win in six tries, while Navas closed out Muskievicz by a score of 6-4, 6-2 to improve his dual-match record to 7-2.
Unfortunately, the U-M lead was short-lived as 47th-ranked Baumann used a late surge to complete a 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-0 decision over Jung at No. 1 and 37th-ranked Michalicka gutted out a 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 victory over Mazlin at No. 2 to give the Badgers the win.
The Wolverines close out their five-match road swing at Northwestern on Sunday (March 29). The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CDT start at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #47 Moritz Baumann (Wisconsin) d. Jason Jung, 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-0
No. 2 -- #37 Marek Michalicka (Wisconsin) d. Andrew Mazlin, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4
No. 3 -- Patrick Pohlmann (Wisconsin) d. Mike Sroczynski, 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. Michael Dierberger, 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 -- Peter Aarts (U-M) d. Peter Marrack, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 -- George Navas (U-M) d. Michael Muskievicz, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #17 Baumann/Michalicka (Wisconsin) d. #26 Jung/Navas, 9-8(3)
No. 2 -- Muskievicz/Luke Rassow-Kantor d. Madden/Mazlin, 8-6
No. 3 -- Aarts/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Dierberger/Pohlmann, 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 3-4-5-6-1-2
Players Mentioned
