Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Shut Out Michigan State
2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2016
» Michigan has not surrendered a point at home in four matches, outscoring its opponents, 28-0, at the Varsity Tennis Center.
» Junior/sophomore Alex Knight delivered a straight-set win at No. 1 to move to 8-0 on the season in dual-match play.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 7, Michigan State 0
Records: U-M (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten), MSU (8-4, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 13-- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 4 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team remained perfect at home by shutting out Michigan State, 7-0, in front of 649 fans on Friday evening (Feb. 19) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
It was all Michigan in the doubles, as all three teams jumped out to early breaks. At No. 2, juniors Jathan Malik and Tyler Gardiner raced out to a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-1 win.
Moments later, freshman Myles Schalet and Gabe Tishman sealed a 6-1 win at No. 3 on a Schalet forehand winner to spot Michigan the early 1-0 lead.
Michigan won all six first sets in singles action, taking control of the team match.
Sophomore Carter Lin was the first Wolverine off court, delivering a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4. Lin won the first five games of the second set to coast to the victory.
Sophomore Runhao Hua was the next Wolverine to grab a win, taking a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 3 a few minutes later to push Michigan's lead to 3-0.
Freshman Lubomir Cuba was the deciding point for Michigan as he won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6, sealing the match when Ivan Rakic's return of serve went wide.
Malik fell behind 5-4 in the second-set breaker but ripped off three straight points, capped by chasing down a ball tipped off the net for the 6-3, 7-6 (5) win at No. 2 for Michigan's fifth point.
Junior/sophomore Alex Knight continued his strong play in dual matches, grinding out a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory at No. 1. Knight found himself down 4-2 at the changeover in the tiebreaker before winning five of the next six points to take the win in two sets.
The Maize and Blue kept the Spartans off the board as Tishman rallied in both sets for a pair of 7-5 set wins at No. 5 for the night's seventh point.
Michigan is back in action tomorrow night (Saturday, Feb. 20), hosting Alabama at 6 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Alex Knight (U-M) d. Mac Roy (MSU), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 2 -- Jathan Malik (U-M) d. Michael Dube (MSU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 3 -- Runhao Hua (U-M) d. Jasper Koenen (MSU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 -- Carter Lin (U-M) d. Alex Kim (MSU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 -- Gabe Tishman (U-M) d. Billy Shisler (MSU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 6 -- Lubomir Cuba (U-M) d. Ivan Rakic (MSU), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M) vs. Michael Dube/Mac Roy (MSU), 5-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- Jathan Malik/Tyler Gardiner (U-M) d. Jasper Koenen/Ivan Rakic (MSU), 6-1
No. 3 -- Gabe Tishman/Myles Schalet (U-M) d. Colin Harvey/Alex Kim (MSU), 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 4-3-6-2-1-5
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
