Michigan
Ohio State
Fenty Defeats No. 1 Wolf Despite Michigan Setback to OSU in B1G Semis
4/27/2019 1:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» Andrew Fenty defeated No. 1-ranked JJ Wolf, handing him his first loss of the season.
» Michigan secured the doubles point, handing OSU only its second doubles loss of the season.
» U-M will await its next opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday night (April 29).
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinal)
Result: #1 Ohio State 4, #22 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (17-8), OSU (28-2)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., May 3-5 -- NCAA Regionals (Campus Sites)
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 4 seed University of Michigan men's tennis team handed No. 1 seed Ohio State its second doubles-point loss of the season and took three first sets in singles play but ultimately lost, 4-2, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal round Saturday (April 27) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Freshman Andrew Fenty earned U-M's second point, defeating No. 1-ranked JJ Wolf in straight sets at No. 1 for Wolf's first loss of the season.
Michigan's pairing of Fenty and senior Myles Schalet was in full control at No. 2 doubles, cruising to a 6-0 win with three breaks. The top duo of junior Connor Johnston and sophomore Mattias Siimar clinched the doubles point for the Maize and Blue with a 6-3 victory. Michigan went up a break after the Buckeyes mishit a routine forehand on deuce point at 2-1. Despite OSU's comeback efforts, during which they saved two match points, the Wolverines converted on the third to hand OSU its second doubles-point loss of the season and first against a Big Ten foe.
The Wolverines (17-8) continued their impressive play into singles and won three first sets. However, OSU (28-2) clawed back with victories at No. 6, No. 3 and No. 4 to take a 3-1 lead.
Fenty took control early in the first set with a break at 2-1 on an unforced error by Wolf. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year held serve throughout the first set en route to a 6-3 set win, handing Wolf his first dropped set since March 1 in OSU's Big Ten opener against Penn State.
In the second set, the Washington, D.C., native picked up a break at 2-1 before the two traded breaks twice, with the last giving Fenty a 5-4 lead. After Wolf evened the score at 5, the momentum shifted back to Fenty when Wolf called his 30-15 serve out and the chair umpire overturned it.
Fenty clinched the match with a 7-5 win in the second set to hand the top-ranked Wolf his first loss of the season.
The victory is Fenty's 27th of the season, which puts him in sole possession of third by a freshman on the Michigan all-time list. His 20 doubles wins also tie him for eighth by a freshman. He becomes the 28th member of the 20-20 club (20 singles wins and 20 doubles wins) and is just the sixth freshman to accomplish the feat.
Fenty takes down No. 1 Wolf for his first loss of the season! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/U0xrS8pwF2
— Michigan Men's Tennis (@umichtennis) April 27, 2019
OSU battled back to win consecutive sets at No. 2 to secure the win and advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship match on Sunday (April 28) against the winner of Illinois and Penn State at 11 a.m.
Michigan will await its next opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday night (April 29).
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 109 Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. No. 1 JJ Wolf (OSU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 -- No. 22 John McNally (OSU) d. Myles Schalet (U-M), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- Martin Joyce (OSU) d. No. 67 Mattias Siimar (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- No. 53 Kyle Seelig (OSU) d. Connor Johnston (U-M), 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 -- Alex Kobelt (OSU) vs. Patrick Maloney (U-M), 4-6, 6-4, 2-2 unfinished
No. 6 -- Hunter Tubert (OSU) d. Gabe Tishman (U-M), 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- Connor Johnston/Mattias Siimar (U-M) d. No. 30 Martin Joyce/JJ Wolf (OSU), 6-3
No. 2 -- Andrew Fenty/Myles Schalet (U-M) d. No. 41 Alex Kobelt/Kyle Seelig (OSU), 6-0
No. 3 -- John McNally/Hunter Tubert (OSU) vs. Harrison Brown/Gabe Tishman (U-M), 4-3 unfinished
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1, Singles 6-3-4-1-2
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Players Mentioned
