Michigan
Pepperdine
Michigan Unable to Stave Off No. 13 Pepperdine
2/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 7, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #13 Pepperdine 5, Michigan 2
Records: U-M (2-3), Pepperdine (3-2)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 13 -- vs. Notre Dame (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite the efforts of an energetic crowd, the University of Michigan men's tennis team came up short against No. 13 Pepperdine on Sunday (Feb. 7), falling 5-2 at the Varsity Tennis Center. Junior Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) was Michigan's only winner in singles (at No. 2), as Pepperdine won five of six matches in singles.
For the second straight dual match, Michigan clinched the doubles point but faced stiff resistance from the Waves at No. 1. Junior Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa) and Chris Cha (Eureka, Mo./Univ. of Missouri H.S.) won their fifth doubles match of the year at No. 3 (2-2 in dual match play), defeating Mousheg Hovhannisyan and Alejandro Moreno of Pepperdine, 8-3, to give Michigan an early advantage. Pepperdine evened things up with a win at No. 2, setting the stage for an epic finish at No. 1.
Jung teamed with freshman Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Laurel Springs Prep) at No. 1 and held a 7-6 advantage over Clarke/Beidas (Pepperdine), serving for the win before the Waves stormed back to tie at 7-7. Pepperdine took the lead, 8-7, in the ensuing game, but Michigan mounted a comeback to tie at 8-8 and force a tiebreaker. Jung and King prevailed in the tiebreak, 7-5, to give Michigan the early team advantage, 1-0.
The Waves got off to a very fast start in singles, winning four of the first six sets across all singles matches. A Pepperdine win at No. 3 over senior Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs Prep) put the teams at a 1-1 tie. As Pepperdine gained the upper hand in the early stages of singles, so did Jung, who quickly dispatched of Hovannisyan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to put Michigan in front again, 2-1. The lead did not last long, however, as Madden was bounced at No. 5 by Finn Tearney of the Waves, 6-4, 6-4, to once again deadlock the match at 2-2.
The match came down to whichever team won two of the last three singles matches, and there was no shortage of drama. In his first-ever attempt at No. 1 singles, King took No. 90 Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine) to the limit in the match's two sets but fell, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). The tide turned as King held a 5-4 advantage in the second set. Serving for the second set and attempting to force a third, the talented freshman connected on a shot to the near side that hugged the line, but the official determined the ball was out. The disputed call allowed the set to continue, which Beidas won, pushing momentum to the Waves' side.
Michigan had its back against the wall and was facing a 3-2 deficit, with Cha and senior George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory) still in action. Cha gave Daniel Moss of Pepperdine all he could handle at No. 6 but could not pull out the victory, losing 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, and making Pepperdine the winner.
The Wolverines will enjoy the confines of the Varsity Tennis Center for the next two weeks, returning to host Notre Dame on Saturday (Feb. 13) at 6 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Bassann Beidas (Pepperdine) d. No. 73 Evan King (U-M), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 -- No. 50 Jason Jung (U-M) d. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (Pepperdine), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 70 Alex Llompart (Pepperdine) d. Mike Sroczynski (U-M), 6-0, 6-4
No. 4 -- No. 96 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) d. George Navas (U-M), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 -- Finn Tearney (Pepperdine) d. Chris Madden (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 -- Daniel Moss (Pepperdine) d. Chris Cha (U-M), 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jung/King (U-M) d. Clarke/Beidas (Pepperdine), 9-8 (7-5)
No. 2 -- No. 52 Llompart/Tearney (Pepperdine) d. Navas/Sroczynski (U-M), 8-5
No. 3 -- Madden/Cha (U-M) d. Hovhannisyan/Moreno (Pepperdine), 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles: 3, 2, 1; Singles: 3, 2, 5, 1, 6*, 4
* Clinched win
N O T E S
• The match between Michigan and Pepperdine was initially slated to be on Saturday (Feb. 6), but due to weather across Ohio, Pepperdine could not make the trip. The Waves were at Ohio State on Friday.
• Going back to last Sunday's (Jan. 31) win against Minnesota, the doubles tandem of Cha and Madden at No. 3 have outscored opponents 16-3 in their last two doubles matches. In addition to their 8-3 win on Sunday, Cha and Madden blanked Dehn and Ruddock of Minnesota, 8-0, last Sunday.
• Sunday's match was also the first time Jung played at No. 2 singles in a dual match this season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the result against Pepperdine ... "It was certainly disappointing for us. We felt that out of all the matches we have played this year, we had a good chance to not only win but be at the highest level competitively. But Pepperdine is good, number one, and most of the teams we play this season will be good. To beat a team like that, we needed to play well, compete well and fight the entire time, and I think that's where we are most disappointed. We didn't leave everything out there. We didn't bounce back."
On the crowd and atmosphere ... "They were helpful in doubles. It was a typical crowd, a good crowd. It would have been much bigger had the match been played last night. I think especially in Evan and Jason's doubles match, they fed off the crowd and showed a lot of resilience. Our guys definitely enjoyed playing in front of them."
On how the team can bounce back ... "Well, it's cliché, but we need to learn from this, because there's not a lot of time for us to bounce back. We need learn from the mistakes we are making. We've got a very strong schedule and we are going to face some very difficult teams here. No question, though, that this one was tough."
U-M Junior Jason Jung
On his doubles win with Evan King ... "I thought we played with a lot of fire. When we get down, we do the best job we can to pick each other up. It helped us when we were serving for the match."
U-M Freshman Evan King
On his experience playing at No. 1 ... "I just tried to play my normal game. Whoever you face, whether it's at No. 1 or No. 6, is going to be good. I thought I had a good chance to win going in, but I didn't find my 'A' game. It was a tough match, but it was fun to play there. I showed everything on my sleeve today."
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
