Michigan
Kentucky
Michigan's Late Singles Push Not Enough at Kentucky
1/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 24, 2016
» Jathan Malik, Myles Schalet and Gabe Tishman each made his Michigan dual-match debut.
» Michigan won singles matches at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, but Kentucky won the doubles point and first three matches off court to seal the 4-3 win.
Site: Lexington, Ky. (Boone Indoor Tennis Center)
Score: Kentucky 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (0-1), UK (4-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 29 -- vs. Princeton - Ivy/Big Ten Challenge (New York City, N.Y.), 5:30 p.m.
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team won the final three singles matches off court in its first dual match of the season, but it was not enough as U-M fell, 4-3, at Kentucky on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 24) at the Boone Indoor Tennis Center.
Michigan fell behind early on all three doubles courts and was unable to make any ground, dropping a 6-2 match at No. 3 and a 6-4 match at No. 1. Michigan and UK were tied at 5-5 on court No. 2 when the match was abandoned per the new college tennis rules.
Kentucky won three straight singles matches at the top of the lineup to secure the dual win. Michigan did not fade away, however, as the Wolverines took the final three matches on court for the final 4-3 margin.
Junior/sophomore Alex Knight started it off at No. 4, pulling out a 9-7 tiebreak win to take the first set. In the second, Knight only needed one break to wrap up a 6-4 win for the match.
Junior Kevin Wong pulled out two tiebreaker wins to pick up the win at No. 5, knocking off Charles Minc in straight sets.
Michigan's final point on the afternoon came from freshman Myles Schalet at No. 6. The freshman picked up a win in the first set before dropping a 9-7 breaker for the second. With the team match already decided, Schalet and Enzo Wallart played a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set. Schalet prevailed, 13-11, wrapping up the first dual-match win of his career.
U-M continues action on Friday (Jan. 29) in the Ivy-Big Ten Challenge in New York City, first taking on Princeton at 5:30 p.m. before facing Cornell Saturday (Jan. 30, 2:30 p.m.).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #79 William Bushamuka (UK) d. Jathan Malik (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) d. Davis Crocker (U-M), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- #117 Nils Ellefsen (UK) d. Carter Lin (U-M), 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 -- Alex Knight (U-M) d. Trey Yates (UK), 7-6 (7), 6-4
No. 5 -- Kevin Wong (U-M) d. Charles Minc (UK), 7-6, 7-6 (0)
No. 6 -- Myles Schalet (U-M) d. Enzo Wallart (UK), 7-5, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (11)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Nils Ellefsen/Kevin Lai (UK) d. Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (U-M), 6-4
No. 2 -- Enzo Wallart/ Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) vs. Davis Crocker/Gabe Tishman (U-M), 5-5 abandoned
No. 3 -- William Bushamuka/ Charles Minc (UK) d. Alex Knight/Myles Schalet (U-M), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1, Singles 3-2-1-4-5-6
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
