Michigan
LSU
Wolverines Win Five Singles Matches to Beat LSU
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 4, 2012
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 5, LSU 2
Records: U-M (4-2), LSU (3-2)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Feb. 11 -- at Washington (Seattle, Wash.), 2 p.m. PST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped the doubles point for the first time this season but rebounded with five singles wins to claim a 5-2 victory over LSU on Saturday evening (Feb. 4) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Sophomore Barrett Franks (Christchurch, New Zealand/Shirley Boys' Schools) clinched from the No. 5 singles position, where he mounted a big second-set comeback to knock off Stefan Szacinski, 6-4, 7-5, for his fourth dual win of the season. Franks took advantage of a late break in the first set before rallying from a 5-2 deficit to secure the second, winning four straight points to close out the match.
Junior Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan Prep) and freshman Alex Petrone (Staten Island, N.Y./Laurel Springs Prep) were first off the court, finishing in quick succession at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, respectively, to earn Michigan its first lead of the dual. King, ranked sixth nationally, defeated LSU's No. 68-ranked Olivier Borsos, 6-1, 6-4, rebounding from a pair of early breaks in the second, winning the final five games to improve to 5-1 in dual action.
Petrone cruised past Chris Simpson, 6-3, 6-4, to claim his fourth dual win, earning a fifth-game break in the second set before ending the contest on a backhand winner on the baseline.
Freshman Michael Zhu (Princeton, N.J./Keystone National HS) was third off court with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Tom Knights at No. 4 singles. The two traded several early breaks in the second set, before Zhu claimed the last three games to close the match.
With the Wolverine victory already in hand, sophomore Shaun Bernstein (Plainview, N.Y./Old Bethpage JFK HS) won a marathon three-set decision over Neal Skupski, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (10), at the No. 2 position. After Skupski earned a late break to take the control in the third, Bernstein broke back to even the score at 4-4 and force the eventual tiebreaker. The Wolverine failed to convert on three match points after jumping to a 6-3 advantage and subsequently fought off three match points before stringing together two points on an overhead at the net and a match-ending LSU double fault.
The Tigers clinched the doubles points from the No. 2 position, where Roger Anderson and Szacinski used a seventh-game break to edge Franks and sophomore Alex Buzzi (Key Biscayne, Fla./Gulliver Prep), 8-6. The other two doubles matches finished simultaneously with U-M taking the No. 1 match, 8-3, on a pair of early breaks.
The Wolverines will hit the road next Saturday (Feb. 11), traveling to Seattle, Wash., to face Washington at 2 p.m. PST at the Huskies' Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 6 Evan King (U-M) d. No. 68 Olivier Borsos (LSU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 -- Shaun Bernstein (U-M) d. Neal Skupski (LSU), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (10)
No. 3 -- Alex Petrone (U-M) d. Chris Simpson (LSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- Michael Zhu (U-M) d. Tom Knights (LSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Barrett Franks (U-M) d. Stefan Szacinski (LSU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 -- James Turbervill (LSU) d. Eli Brown (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 22 Evan King/Shaun Bernstein (U-M) d. No. 28 Olivier Borsos/Chris Simpson (LSU), 8-3
No. 2 -- Roger Anderson/Stefan Szacinski (LSU) d. Barrett Franks/Alex Buzzi (U-M), 8-6
No. 3 -- Neal Skupski/James Turbervill (LSU) d. Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M), 8-3
Order of completion: Singles 1-3-4-6-5-2; Doubles 1-3-2
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
