Michigan
Wake Forest
Michigan Wins at Wake Forest in Non-Conference Finale
3/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 10, 2012
Site: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest Tennis Center)
Score: #24 Michigan 4, Wake Forest 3
Records: U-M (7-4), Wake Forest (8-6)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 17 -- vs. Michigan State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team claimed the doubles point and three of the first four singles matches off court en route to a 4-3 decision against Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon (March 10) at the Wake Forest Tennis Center. The decision marked the third straight road victory for the Wolverines, who closed out the non-conference portion of their 2011-12 season.
Michigan took the doubles point for the seventh time this year with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. U-M's top pairing of junior Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan Prep) and sophomore Shaun Bernstein (Plainview, N.Y./Old Bethpage JFK HS), ranked 14th in the latest ITA poll, won handily over the Demon Deacons' Amogh Prabhakar and Sam Wells, 8-3, to improve to a team-best 7-2 in dual competition.
The Wolverines' freshman duo of Alex Petrone (Staten Island, N.Y./Laurel Springs Prep) and Michael Zhu (Princeton, N.J./Keystone National HS) clinched the point from the No. 3 court, earning a 9-8 (5) win over Danny Kreyman and Alex Tsai.
King, Bernstein and Petrone also represented Michigan's singles victories at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 positions, respectively.
Tenth-ranked King claimed his fourth consecutive win in decisive fashion, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over David Hopkins. King improved to 9-2 in dual-match play; he has won eight of his last nine contests.
After Wake Forest narrowed the gap with a win at the No. 4 spot, Petrone and Bernstein earned back-to-back wins in straight sets to seal the Wolverine victory. Petrone defeated Prabhakar, 6-4, 6-1, while Bernstein claimed a 7-5, 6-2 decision against Kreyman. It was Bernstein's first dual-clinching effort of the season.
The Wolverines (7-4) will kick off Big Ten Conference dual competition next Saturday (March 17), hosting in-state rival Michigan State at noon at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #10 Evan King (U-M) d. David Hopkins (WF), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -- Shaun Bernstein (U-M) d. Danny Kreyman (WF), 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 -- Alex Petrone (U-M) d. Amogh Prabhakar (WF), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 -- Adam Lee (WF) d. Barrett Franks (U-M), 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 -- Conner Sherwood (WF) d. Michael Zhu (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 -- Alex Tsai (WF) d. Alex Buzzi (U-M), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #14 Evan King/Shaun Bernstein (U-M) d. Amogh Prabhakar/Sam Wells (WF), 8-3
No. 2 -- David Hopkins/Adam Lee (WF) d. Barrett Franks/Alex Buzzi (U-M), 8-4
No. 3 -- Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M) d. Danny Kreyman/Alex Tsai (WF), 9-8 (5)
Order of Completion: Singles 1-4-3-2-5-6; Doubles 1-3-2
N O T E S
• Michigan improved to 5-3 in the all-time series against Wake Forest. U-M has won two straight against the Demon Deacons.
• Sophomore Shaun Bernstein is the seventh different Wolverine to clinch a dual victory.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the Wolverines' win ... "I don't necessarily think we played our best tennis. Even though we did clinch fairly early, it was a little touch and go for a little while. We were fortunate to win the doubles point, because we lost at No. 2 and were behind the entire match at No. 3. We lost the first set in three singles matches, and Shaun Bernstein was down 5-2 in the first set, so it looked like we might lose four first sets. But our guys were pretty resilient; I think they've done a good job with that. Michael Zhu did a good job to step up and take control in their doubles match, while Shaun did a good job with turning his first set around. I think that was a big turning point in the match. That gave our team a lot of momentum. I think we competed well on most courts. It was good to come up with a win over a pretty good team."
On winning three straight on the road ... "I think they're getting it. The Vanderbilt match was a huge turning point for us. We were in a big hole there, and they hung together and pulled it out. We've won three in a row on the road, so they're definitely figuring it out, whether it's five people cheering for you or 500, that it's really up to them to be responsible for their own energy. It will be nice to be back home next weekend to start Big Ten play against Michigan State."
On doubles play ... "It's very important to win that first point. After the point, I tend to down play it a little bit -- if we win, I tell them we've only won 1/7th of the match and if we lost, don't worry because we've only lost 1/7th of the match. We know that a fair amount of our matches will come down to 4-3 or close, so that doubles point is very important and a big momentum changer."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
