Michigan
Napa Valley Invitational
Wolverines Wrap up Play at Napa Valley Invitational
9/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 20, 2009
Site: Saint Helena, Calif. (Meadowood Resort)
Event: Napa Valley Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
Score: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Monday, Oct. 5 -- ITA All-American Qualifying (Tulsa, Okla.)
Saint Helena, Calif. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team finished day three at the Land Rover Napa Valley Invitational in Saint Helena, Calif., Sunday morning (Sept. 20), with the Wolverines earning four victories (two singles, two doubles). Freshman Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Laurel Springs Prep) reached the championship on the final day before losing a three-set thriller to Call's Jonathan Dahan, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (7).
While the event was not team scored, Michigan's doubles tandems looked particularly impressive, winning six of their nine matches, including a clean sweep Friday morning against Cal. Additionally, the Wolverines won seven singles matches this weekend, four of which came from King and freshman Chris Cha (Eureka, Mo./University of Missouri HS).
Michigan head coach Bruce Berque saw some positives from this weekend's play and witnessed growth with his upperclassmen.
"I was really encouraged by how we looked as a team," Berque said. "I know our players really enjoyed themselves out here. There were definitely some positives, but we've got a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be when the season starts."
The Napa Valley Invitational marked the collegiate debuts for King and Cha. King had little trouble dispatching Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal) Friday, winning 6-4, 6-4. On Saturday, he defeated Kalle Norberg of Ole Miss (ranked No. 31 by the ITA), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, to earn a trip to the championship Sunday. Despite the close loss to Dahan, King took home second place in his first collegiate competition.
Cha's career didn't exactly get off to a good start. After getting blanked 6-0 in the first set against Cal's Zach Gilbert on Friday, Cha bounced back in a big way to take the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4. He defeated Bijan Hejazi (Cal) Saturday, 6-2, 7-6 (4) but fell to Alistair Felton (Harvard) Sunday, 6-4, 6-3.
Michigan will resume fall practice this week and take a short reprieve from fall tournament play before heading to Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 5 for ITA All-American Qualifying.
DAY THREE RESULTS (Sunday, Sept. 20)
Doubles
Evan King/George Navas (U-M) def. Alexei Chijoff-Evans/Aba Omodele-Lucien (Harvard) -- 8-5
Jason Jung/Mike Sroczynski (U-M) def. Alistair Felton/Andy Nguyen (Harvard) -- 8-5
Sky Lovill/Nick Andrews (Cal) def. Chris Cha/Chris Madden (U-M) -- 8-2
Singles
Jonathan Dahan (Cal) def. Evan King (U-M) -- 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (7)
Chris Madden (U-M) def. Zach Gilbert (Cal) -- 6-7 (2), 6-4, 1-0 (9)
Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal) def. George Navas (U-M) -- 7-6 (5), 6-4
Alistair Felton (Harvard) def. Chris Cha (U-M) -- 6-4, 6-3
Mike Sroczynski (U-M) def. Abu Omodele-Lucien (Harvard) -- 6-4, 6-4
DAY TWO RESULTS (Saturday, Sept. 19)
Doubles
Chris Theimann/Marcel Theimann (Ole Miss) def. Evan King/Chris Madden (U-M) -- 8-6
Kalle Norberg/Tucker Vorster (Ole Miss) def. Jason Jung/George Navas (U-M) -- 8-4
Chris Cha/Mike Sroczynski (U-M) def. Zach Gilbert/Bijan Hejazi (Cal) -- 8-2
Singles
Evan King (U-M) def. Kalle Norberg (Ole Miss) -- 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Jason Jung (U-M) def. Marcel Theimann (Ole Miss) -- 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Tucker Vorster (Ole Miss) def. George Navas (U-M) -- 7-6 (5), 6-1
Adrian Skokeng (Ole Miss) def. Mike Sroczynski (U-M) -- 6-2, 6-4
Chris Theimann (Ole Miss) def. Chris Madden (U-M) -- 6-1, 7-5
Chris Cha (U-M) def. Bijan Hejazi (Cal) -- 6-2, 7-6 (4)
DAY ONE RESULTS (Friday, Sept. 18)
Doubles
Jason Jung/George Navas (U-M) def. Nick Andrews/Riki McLachlan (Cal) -- 8-6
Evan King/Chris Madden (U-M) def. Bozhiad Katsarov/Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal) -- 8-6
Chris Cha/Mike Sroczynski (U-M) def. Sky Lovill/Jonathan Dahan (Cal) -- 8-6
Singles
Jonathan Dahan (Cal) def. Jason Jung (U-M) -- 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
Evan King (U-M) def. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal) -- 6-4, 6-4
Riki McLachlan (Cal) def. Chris Madden (U-M) -- 7-5, 6-2
Nick Andrews (Cal) def. Mike Scrozynski (U-M) -- 6-4, 7-6 (4)
George Navas (U-M) def. Bijan Hejazi (Cal) -- 6-4, 6-4
Chris Cha (U-M) def. Zach Gilbert (Cal) -- 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
