Michigan
NCAA Individual Championships
King Advances, Jung Eliminated at NCAA Individual Championships
5/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 25, 2011
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Taube Tennis Stadium)
Event: NCAA Individual Championships (Singles First Round)
Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Thursday, May 26 -- at NCAA Individual Championships (Palo Alto, Calif.), 10 a.m. PT
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team split two matches in the first round of the singles draw at the NCAA Individual Championships on Wednesday (May 25), with sophomore Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan) winning and senior Jason Jung (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) losing in action at Taube Tennis Stadium.
King was the first off the court, steamrolling to an upset of No. 12 Tim Puetz (Auburn), 6-3, 6-0, for his 29th singles win of the season. King was in control from the opening serve, jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set. Puetz took the next two games to crawl to 4-3 and had an opportunity to tie the match at 4-4, but King did not falter and rolled from there, not dropping a game the rest of the match. With the win, King will face #26 Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech) in the second round Thursday (May 26).
King is just the second U-M player since David Kass (1988-92) to win a match in the singles draw at the NCAA Individual Championships. Prior to King's victory, former All-American Matko Maravic (2005-08) was the last victor at the event, winning in the first round in 2007.
Jung was three courts down from King on the same side, facing a tough opening-round test from No. 9 Bradley Klahn (Stanford), the defending NCAA singles champion. The Michigan captain was ahead early, jumping out to a 5-3 lead, but Klahn roared back to take a 6-5 lead in the first set behind the home crowd. Jung won the next game to tie the match at 6-6, sending the first set to a first-to-seven tiebreaker, which Klahn won, 7-5. The two men were tied at 2-2 in the second set, but Klahn broke Jung in the following game to go up, 3-2, and won the ensuing three games to win the match, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Jung closes out the singles portion of his collegiate career with a 25-12 record, the best statistical year of his four seasons in Ann Arbor. He went 83-64 during his four-year tenure (2008-11).
The NCAA Individual Championships continue tomorrow (Thursday, May 26) with the start of the 32-team doubles draw. Jung and King will team up to face UCLA's Adrien Puget and Alex Brigham. The U-M duo was originally slated to play Jaak Poldma/JT Sundling, the No. 1 doubles team of the national champion USC Trojans, but they removed themselves from the doubles draw. The match will start no earlier than 3 p.m. PT.
Following are match-by-match results:
SINGLES
#55 Jason Jung
Wednesday, May 25 (Round of 64) -- l. #9 Bradley Klahn (Stanford), 7-6 (5), 6-2
#21 Evan King
Wednesday, May 25 (Round of 64) -- d. #12 Tim Puetz (Auburn), 6-3, 6-0
Thursday, May 26 (Round of 32) -- vs. #26 Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech), 10 a.m.
DOUBLES
Jason Jung/Evan King
Thursday, May 26 -- vs. #32 Adrian Puget/Alex Brigham (UCLA), 3 p.m.
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
