Michigan
Minnesota
Men's Tennis Beats Minnesota to Claim Little Brown Jug
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 27, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #28 Michigan 5, #39 Minnesota 2
Records: Michigan (6-7, 2-0 Big Ten), Minnesota (7-6, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next Event: Sunday, March 28 -- vs. #66 Iowa (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - With the tennis version of the Little Brown Jug on the line, the No. 28-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team beat No. 39 Minnesota, 5-2, on Saturday (March 27) inside the Varsity Tennis Center, returning the artifact to Ann Arbor for at least one year.
The doubles point was as hotly contested as it has been all season. The Wolverines were down early after Minnesota won at No. 3, but rebounded nicely to take the point for the 10th time in 13 dual matches this season and an early 1-0 lead. The No. 1 (and No. 46-ranked) team of seniors George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory) and Mike Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs Prep) held two leads late (at 7-6 and 8-7), but could not put away Minnesota's duo of Sebastian Gallego/Phillip Arndt and were forced to go to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Navas/Sroczynski quickly refocused, winning 9-8 (1).
The No. 2 (and No. 52-ranked) team of junior Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) and freshman Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan) fell behind in their match early, trailing 4-1 before a furious rally that saw them in the lead, 7-6, with King serving for the match. Their opponents, Rok Bonin/Tobias Wernet (Minnesota), did not crumble and eventually sent the match to a tiebreaker. The Wolverines prevailed in the extra session to take the match and the point, 9-8 (3).
Playing in front of his parents, freshman Chris Cha (Eureka, Mo./University of Missouri H.S.) stretched Michigan's lead to 2-0 with his straight-set victory at No. 6 over Brendan Ruddock (Minnesota). Navas and King followed suit with straight-set wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, respectively, to clinch the match for Michigan. Sroczynski lost at No. 3 to Bonin to put Minnesota on the board.
Like on Thursday against Stanford, junior Chris Madden (Lotus, Calif./Ponderosa) trailed early in his match before turning it on and overpowering Arndt. Madden trailed 4-0 and 40-0 in the first set before rallying to take it, 6-4. He put Arndt away in a second set tiebreaker (7-6 (3)), giving Michigan its fifth and final point. Jung was the only player remaining on the courts, playing at No. 2 against Wernet, but fell in the supertiebreaker, 14-12, after a back-and-forth affair.
The Wolverines will return to the Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday (March 28), when they face Iowa. The match will begin at noon.
The following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 - No. 103 Evan King (U-M) d. No. 76 Sebastian Gallego (MN) - 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - No. 121 Tobias Wernet (MN) d. No. 42 Jason Jung (U-M) - 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (14-12)
No. 3 - Rok Bonin (MN) d. Mike Sroczynski (U-M) - 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 4 - George Navas (U-M) d. Dino Bilankov (MN) - 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 - Chris Madden (U-M) d. Phillip Arndt (MN) - 6-4, 7-6 (3)
No. 6 - Chris Cha (U-M) d. Brendan Ruddock (MN) - 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - No. 46 George Navas/Mike Sroczynski (U-M) d. No. 37 Sebastian Gallego/Phillip Arndt (MN) - 9-8 (1)
No. 2 - No. 52 Jason Jung/Evan King (U-M) d. Rok Bonin/Tobias Wernet (MN) - 9-8 (3)
No. 3 - Dino Bilankov/Julian Dehn (MN) d. Chris Cha/Chris Madden (U-M) - 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles: 3, 1, 2; Singles: 6, 4, 1*, 3, 5, 2
N O T E S
• Michigan had previously beaten Minnesota 4-2 in the consolation round of the Lexington Regional of ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 31. That match did not count towards the Big Ten standings.
• The tennis version of the Little Brown Jug has been competed for since the 2006 season. Coming into the match, each team had two wins, with Michigan owning the Jug in 2007 and 2008. Minnesota won it last season.
• With their doubles win, Sroczynski and Navas each have 18 doubles wins on the season (9-3 in dual matches). Jung and King are now above .500 in doubles (6-5; 1-1 at No. 2).
• Navas will go for career doubles win No. 80 tomorrow against Iowa. For his career, he is 79-53 (.598).
• King has now played at No. 1 singles in three straight dual matches. He is 2-2 on the season at that spot.
• Today's attendance was 210.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the match against Minnesota... "Minnesota is a very good team. They have been playing well lately, having beaten Pepperdine, a team that we lost to earlier this season. It was a battle the last time we played [in January]. We knew they were going to come out and compete hard again this time. It's extremely difficult to beat a good team like Minnesota twice in one season, especially considering that we didn't play our best in the early stages of the match. Overall, I am pleased with the win."
On the start to doubles... "They were more aggressive than we were and had more energy. I thought we did a good job of keeping our composure. Our doubles play has been pretty good this season, but we need to play more aggressively at the outset and we need to be ready to play like that tomorrow against Iowa."
On keeping the Jug in Ann Arbor... "It's definitely a good thing. The Minnesota coach suggested it a few years back, and I thought it was a good idea. I didn't like walking by our trophy case and not seeing it in there. It's good to have it for at least another year."
Freshman Chris Cha
On his match at No. 6 singles... "I thought I competed pretty hard today. I took my time on my serve which allowed me to do it pretty well. Coming in, I told myself I wanted to get it done."
On playing in front of his parents... "It had an effect. I haven't seen them in a long time, probably not since first semester, so I really wanted to get a win for them."
On if the result of his first set is indicative of the result of the match... "It's always important to get good starts in your matches. I've had some rough starts this year. Today, I found my holes early and was able to correct them. That gave me a good start and some confidence going forward."
Freshman Evan King
On his singles match... "I thought I got off to a good start, got two breaks to begin and went up 3-0. After that, I think I started to play a little bit loose. I didn't want him to dictate the tempo like my opponent did on Thursday, so I played aggressively when I could."
On whether fatigue becomes a factor for tomorrow's match against Iowa... "It's in the back of my mind. When I was playing juniors, there may be some tournaments where you play six matches in a span of a couple of days, so I think we are all used to that. We'll be rested. We got some good treatment in after this match and we'll be ready. I don't think it will be a factor."
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
