Michigan
Oklahoma
Wolverine Comeback Falls Short at No. 16 Oklahoma
1/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2017
» U-M was down 3-0 before Schalet's win but forced third sets on the remaining three courts as Jathan Malik, Runhao Hua and Davis Crocker each won second-set tiebreakers to keep Michigan's chances alive.
» Michigan is participating in the ITA Kick-Off at Oklahoma, along with the Sooners, Illinois and Arkansas.
Site: Norman, Okla. (Headington Family Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off
Score: #16 Oklahoma 4, #19 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (1-1), OU (3-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 29 -- vs. Arkansas (Norman, Okla.), 10 a.m. CST
NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team closed the gap to 3-1 and was in third sets on the remaining three courts but could not get any closer in a 4-1 loss to No. 16-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday (Jan. 28) at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
The Sooners jumped out to big leads on all three doubles courts, eventually taking the match's first point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
Oklahoma extended its lead to 3-0 with singles wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
In a 3-0 hole, Michigan was able to get crucial tiebreak wins from juniors Runhao Hua and Davis Crocker. Hua took a 7-5 win in his second-set tiebreaker, with Crocker grabbing a 7-4 win at No. 6 to both stay on court and keep Michigan's chances alive.
Sophomore Myles Schalet grabbed an early break in his third set, holding it the rest of the way to put Michigan on the board with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory at No. 5.
Senior Jathan Malik was in a third set at No. 2, serving at 5-5 and down 40-0 before coming back to hold for the 6-5 lead. His match headed to a tiebreaker, where the two remained within a point for the first 11 points. Spencer Papa, ranked No. 18, took a 6-5 lead in the breaker with Malik headed back to serve. Papa won the point, giving Oklahoma the 4-1 win.
The Wolverines will face Arkansas in the consolation match of the ITA Kick-Off tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 29) at 10 a.m. CST
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Andrew Harris (OU) d. No. 50 Kevin Wong (U-M), 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 -- No. 18 Spencer Papa (OU) d. Jathan Malik (U-M), 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (5)
No. 3 -- Alex Ghilea (OU) d. Alex Knight (U-M) (U-M), 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
No. 4 -- Runhao Hua (U-M) vs. No. 118 Florin Bragusi (OU), 2-6, 7-6 (5), 2-5 abandoned
No. 5 -- Myles Schalet (U-M) d. Adrian Oetzbach (OU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
No. 6 -- Davis Crocker (U-M) vs. Jochen Bertsch (OU), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 2-4 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- Andrew Harris/Spencer Papa (OU) d. No. 6 Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (U-M), 6-1
No. 2 -- Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M) vs. Florin Bragusi/Alex Ghilea (OU), 3-5 abandoned
No. 3 -- Jochen Bertsch/Adrian Oetzbach (OU) d. Tyler Gardiner/Myles Schalet (U-M), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3, Singles 1-3-5-2
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
