Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan Falls to No. 3 Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: #3 Ohio State 4, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (13-14), OSU (30-1)
Next U-M Match: TBA
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 37-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 3 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday (April 25) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The fourth-seeded Wolverines (13-14) fell short in doubles despite putting forth a very competitive effort, and the top-seeded Buckeyes (30-1) rode the momentum into singles play and tallied wins in three of the first four matches completed to earn a berth in the championship round.
Ohio State opened doubles action with a quick 8-2 victory at No. 3, but senior Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and sophomore Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa HS) answered with a solid 8-4 triumph over Matt Allare and Balasz Novak at No. 2. The Wolverine duo won the final five games en route to its team-high 13th dual-match win of the season. The pair holds a team-best 18-7 overall record in 2008-09.
U-M's No. 51-ranked tandem of junior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) and sophomore Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance HS) fell behind 7-4 to OSU's No. 17-ranked team of Justin Kronauge and Steven Moneke at No. 1, but the Wolverine duo kept its composure and earned a big break to narrow the gap to 7-5. Jung and Navas held serve in the ensuing game but could not pick up another break, giving Kronauge and Moneke the 8-6 win and Ohio State the first team point.
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead with straight-set singles victories at Nos. 3 and 6. Navas kept the Wolverines in contention with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 triumph over 70th-ranked Novak at No. 5, marking his second career win over a nationally ranked opponent. Navas trailed 4-3 in the second set but used a late break to run away with his 12th dual-match victory of the season.
The Michigan momentum was short-lived, however, as 108th-ranked Allare completed a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 triumph over Madden at No. 4 to give Ohio State its decisive fourth team point. Jung and Mazlin were battling in the third set at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, when the match was decided.
The Wolverines will await the selection of the tournament field for the 2009 NCAA Championships (May 8-25). Selections for the 64-team field will be announced Tuesday (April 28) at approximately 5:20 p.m. on ESPNews, with participants in the singles and doubles championships revealed the following day. Michigan is hoping to secure its fourth straight bid to the NCAA Championship.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #88 Jason Jung (U-M) vs. #3 Bryan Koniecko, 2-6, 7-5, 1-4 (unfinished)
No. 2 -- Andrew Mazlin (U-M) vs. #25 Justin Kronauge, 3-6, 6-1, 3-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- #8 Steven Moneke (OSU) d. Mike Sroczynski, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 -- #108 Matt Allare (OSU) d. Chris Madden, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- George Navas (U-M) d. #70 Balazs Novak, 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 -- Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. Drew Daniel, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- #17 Kronauge/Moneke (OSU) d. #51 Jung/Navas, 8-6
No. 2 -- Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Allare/Novak, 8-4
No. 3 -- Koniecko/Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) d. Daniel/Sroczynski, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 3-6-5-4
Players Mentioned
