Michigan
Notre Dame
Michigan Drops Road Match to No. 25 Fighting Irish
3/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: South Bend, Ind. (Eck Tennis Pavilion)
Score: #25 Notre Dame 5, #28 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (6-7), UND (8-7)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, March 7 -- vs. #23 Wake Forest (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The No. 28-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback to No. 25 Notre Dame on Wednesday (March 4) at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Wolverines (6-7) steamrolled through the doubles competition to take a 1-0 lead but claimed just one of the six matches in singles play.
Junior Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) and sophomore/freshman Drew Daniel (Overland Park, Kan./Laurel Springs School) got U-M off on the right foot by earning a commanding 8-2 victory over Niall Fitzgerald and Matt Johnson at No. 3 doubles. Senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) secured the first team point for the Maize and Blue with their 8-5 triumph over Stephen Havens and Casey Watt at No. 2.
Junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) continued their impressive play at the top spot, upsetting Notre Dame's No. 21-ranked pairing of Tyler Davis and Brett Helgeson by an 8-4 score to wrap up Michigan's second straight doubles sweep. Navas and Jung are undefeated in three dual matches this year.
The Irish pulled ahead 2-1 with a pair of straight-set singles wins at Nos. 2 and 5. Jung found an early rhythm and claimed the first set at No. 1, but 21st-ranked Helgeson battled back to complete a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory and give Notre Dame a 3-1 advantage.
Daniel kept the Wolverines alive with a 6-2, 7-6(6) triumph over Davis at No. 6, earning his 10th win in 12 dual matches this year and remaining undefeated at the sixth position (8-0). He needs just two victories to become the team's first 20-win singles player of 2008-09 (18-9).
Senior Peter Aarts (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane HS) came out on top in a tiebreaker, 7-6(4), to force a third set at No. 4, but Watt found his stride and secured a 6-0, 6-7(4), 6-1 victory to clinch the team win for the Irish. It was a similar story for Madden, who dropped a 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-0(7) decision to Daniel Stahl at No. 3 to close out the match.
The Wolverines return home to the Varsity Tennis Center to host No. 23 Wake Forest on Saturday (March 7) at 6 p.m. U-M is hoping to break its all-time attendance mark at this "Maize Out" match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #21 Brett Helgeson (UND) d. Jason Jung, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -- Stephen Havens (UND) d. Andrew Mazlin, 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Daniel Stahl (UND) d. Chris Madden, 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-0(7)
No. 4 -- Casey Watt (UND) d. Peter Aarts, 6-0, 6-7(4), 6-1
No. 5 -- David Anderson (UND) d. Mike Sroczynski, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Tyler Davis, 6-2, 7-6(6)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jung/George Navas (U-M) d. #21 Davis/Helgeson, 8-4
No. 2 -- Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Havens/Watt, 8-5
No. 3 -- Daniel/Sroczynski (U-M) d. Niall Fitzgerald/Matt Johnson, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 5-2-1-6-4-3
Players Mentioned
