Notes & Quotes: #22 Michigan 6, Iowa 1
4/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2012
N O T E S
• With today's win, Michigan improved to 47-8 in the all-time series against Iowa and has claimed the last three meetings in the series.
• U-M has won each of its last six matches and 11 of its last 12. The Wolverines' current win streak is the program's longest since winning 10 straight in 2007.
• With its 8-1 record in Big Ten play, Michigan has already matched its most conference wins since tallying nine in 1999.
• The Wolverines have won the doubles point in six straight matches and 13 of 19 duals this season, combining for a 35-20 record in dual competition.
• Junior Evan King has won 17 of his last 18 singles matches.
• King has now recorded 30 wins in each of the last two seasons. He owns a share of the 10th position among U-M's all-time single-season wins leaders and needs just one more to move to the eighth spot, currently held by Jon Morris (31, 1988) and Peter Pusztai (31, 1994).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bruce Berque
On the doubles performance ... "I was pleased with the doubles. I thought the guys started well on each court, and they looked like they were ready to play and were executing well. Alex [Buzzi] and Barrett got a much better start today then yesterday, and it was nice to see them stay on top of it. I thought Mike and Alex Petrone did a nice job at No. 3. Evan and Shaun had a tough match. Those two Iowa players had huge serves, and it was tough to break them. When your opponents have such huge weapons like that, it can be hard to win in a tiebreaker. We're hoping that Shaun will be ready to go at full strength next week."
On several players bouncing back from losses yesterday ... "Throughout the course of a long season, everybody will go through a period of time where something isn't quite right, whether they're hurt or slumping or not feeling confident. But with this team, nobody has stayed in the doldrums for very long. I mentioned that to them yesterday and told them that a great goal would be to get back on track today. Mike [Zhu] had his work cut out for him today. His opponent, at No. 3 spot, is definitely one of their strongest players. That was a good win for him; he had to earn it, and I think it will help turn the corner for him. These guys have just been pretty resilient this year. When they've had a rough match or two, they've really been able to rebound."
On junior Evan King ... "It's a nice feeling to know he's out there. A year ago, I was a little more concerned with him being able to stay on top of people or losing focus. He's doing a much better job with that. He played well today and kept the pedal to the metal, and I think he fully understands the importance of doing that and how it can rub off on his teammates."
U-M Freshman Michael Zhu
On his rebound singles win ... "This was definitely a good win for me. I haven't been playing that great the past few weeks. I've been working on a few aspects of the game, and I was having trouble coping with some of those changes. I lost twice last weekend, but I got something out of it. I was really able to practice the main objectives I've been working on. This week, it finally came through. So, today was really good, and I felt like I pulled myself out of that small slump."
On his recent doubles success with Alex Petrone ... "I'm enjoying doubles. The biggest goal for us, from the very first point to the last, is to be aggressive. That's what doubles is about. You can't just stay on the baseline and lob the ball; that won't work. Any shot we hit, whether it's the return, volleys, we're going to attack the opponent. That's been working for us. Right now we're just volleying well, moving and covering the court well, returning well and serving well. We're not playing perfect; we can always get better, but we've got a lot of things working at the moment."
