Michigan
Wisconsin
Wolverines Roll Past Badgers, Advance to Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 24, 2014
• Notes | Photo Gallery 
| Tournament Central
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (First Round)
Score: Michigan 4, Wisconsin 0
Records: Michigan (15-11) Wisconsin (9-16)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 25 -- vs. Penn State - Big Ten Quarterfinals (East Lansing, Mich.), 2 p.m.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team claimed the doubles point and the first three singles matches off the court en route to a 4-0 win over Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Thursday (April 24) at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts.
Michigan got off to a quick start in doubles thanks to an efficient 8-1 win at the No. 3 position by junior Alex Petrone (Staten Island, N.Y./Laurel Springs Prep) and junior Michael Zhu (Princeton, N.J./Keystone National). U-M's No. 2 duo of senior Shaun Bernstein (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview Old Bethpage JFK) and freshman Kevin Wong (Hong Kong/Diocesa) followed up with an 8-3 victory to secure the doubles point.
Transitioning to singles, U-M won consecutive matches at the No. 1, 2 and No. 6 positions to secure the victory. Senior/junior Justin Rossi (Novi, Mich./Laurel Springs Prep) put the Wolverines ahead 2-0 after defeating Alexander Kokorev, 6-4, 6-1, in the first singles match off the court at No. 2. Rossi has won 13 of his last 18 singles matches. He owns 17 singles victories this season, including a career-high 14 dual-match wins.
Moments after Rossi's match ended, Petrone gave U-M its third point of the dual, earning a 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Petr Satral at the top of the singles lineup. Shortly thereafter, Wong clinched the win for Michigan, picking up his sixth consecutive singles victory with a 6-1, 6-3 decision over John Zordani at No. 6.
Sixth-seeded Michigan will face third-seeded Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals tomorrow (Friday, April 25) at 2 p.m. at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts in East Lansing. The Nittany Lions defeated U-M in the teams' first meeting, 4-3, on March 23 in Ann Arbor.
*Note: Friday's (April 25) match has been pushed back to 3 p.m. due to a weather delay, and will be held at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
The following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 113 Alex Petrone (U-M) def. Petr Satral (Wisconsin), 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 -- Justin Rossi (U-M) def. Alexander Kokorev (Wisconsin), 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 -- Vlad Stefan (U-M) vs. Elliott Sprecher (Wisconsin), 7-6, 1-0 DNF
No. 4 -- Alex Buzzi (U-M) vs. Michael Sinha (Wisconsin), 6-4, 2-0 DNF
No. 5 -- Barrett Franks (U-M) vs. Frederik Strabo (Wisconsin), 6-2, 4-4 DNF
No. 6 -- Kevin Wong (U-M) def. John Zordani (Wisconsin), 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Alex Buzzi/Barrett Franks (U-M) vs. Alexander Kokorev/Petr Satral (Wisconsin), 6-3 DNF
No. 2 -- Shaun Bernstein/Kevin Wong def. Elliott Sprecher/Michael Sinha (Wisconsin), 8-3
No. 3 -- Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M) def. John Zordani/Frederik Strabo (Wisconsin), 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2, Singles 2-1-6
N O T E S
• With today's win, Michigan improved to 76-9-1 in the all-times series against Wisconsin.
• U-M has won each of the last six matches against Wisconsin. The Maize and Blue earned a 4-3 victory against Wisconsin earlier this month when the Wolverines and Badgers squared off in Madison on April 13.
• Michigan has won its last four matches and six of its last nine matches overall.
• Matches in postseason play are abandoned once the match is clinched.
• Freshman Kevin Wong has won six consecutive matches dating back to a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Detroit's Ismail Kadyrov on March 15.
Media Contact: Zach Eisendrath (zeisen@umich.edu)
Players Mentioned
