Michigan
Texas
Michigan Advances to ITA Indoor Semis with Win Over Defending Champ Texas
2/15/2020 2:26:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» Michigan defeated all three of Texas' ranked singles players.
» The Wolverines have won their last 10 matches as it moves on the final four.
» U-M will take on USC on Sunday (Feb. 16) at noon CST in a semifinal matchup.
Site: Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
Event: ITA National Team Indoor Championship
Result: #13 Michigan 4, #4 Texas 2
Records: U-M (10-1), Texas (6-2)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 16 -- vs. No. 1 USC - ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Semifinals), noon CST
MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team knocked off defending NCAA champion and No. 4-ranked Texas, 4-2, on Saturday (Feb. 15) to advance to the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Texas is the highest-ranked opponent that Michigan has defeated this season, and the fourth top-10 team. That stretch includes a 4-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round Friday (Feb. 14).
Michigan faced the Longhorns without junior Mattias Siimar in the lineup. He was replaced at No. 3 singles by Connor Johnston and in doubles by Nick Beaty. Siimar is 7-1 in singles and has been paired with Andrew Fenty as the No. 4-ranked doubles team. In addition, Michigan also faced current Texas head coach Bruce Berque, who coached the Wolverines from 2004-14.
Down 1-0 after Texas won the doubles point, Beaty (8-1 this spring) continued his hot start. On Saturday, he played at No. 4 and cruised to a straight-set win over Eliot Spizzirri, 6-2, 6-2.
Ondrej Styler faced his biggest test of the season taking on No. 12 Christian Sigsgaard at No. 2 singles. After winning the first set, 6-3, Styler found himself down, 4-3, before rattling off three straight points for the 6-4 win to push Michigan out front, 2-1, in the team score.
Like Styler, no. 48-ranked Fenty had a high-octane opponent in second-ranked Yuyo Ita. Fenty fell behind, 3-5, in the first set before winning the next four points to take a 7-5 win. He never trailed in the second set to take a 6-4 win and bring Michigan within one point of taking the match.
Cleeve Harper gave Texas its first and only singles at No. 6 while Johnston was closing in on a win at No. 3 singles on the next court. Tied, 2-2, in the first set, No. 37-ranked Siem Woldeab scored four straight for a 6-2 set win. Knotted again at 2-2 in the second set, Johnston went on a 4-2 run to even match and force a third set. It was all Johnson in the third, taking a 2-0 lead, allowing one point and capturing the final four points as the Wolverines stormed the court.
"These guys are special, I've been saying it all year," head coach Adam Steinberg said. "They are just different in a great way. With Mattias out and Patrick out, they just step up no matter who they are playing. They don't care who is on the other side of the net, they play for each other and care about each other. They do it off the court and on the court. One of the great experiences of my coaching career is watching this team on a daily basis."
Texas took the doubles point, despite No. 42-ranked Johnston and Styler teaming up at No. 1 and earning a 6-4 victory over Sigsgaard and Chih Chi Huang.
Michigan will face No. 1 USC on Sunday (Feb. 16) at noon CST in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship following the Trojans' 4-0 win over Stanford on Saturday.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 48 Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. No. 2 Yuya Ito (Texas), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 43 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. No. 12 Christian Sigsgaard (Texas), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 -- Connor Johnston (U-M) d. No. 37 Siem Woldeab (Texas), 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 -- Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Eliot Spizzirri (Texas), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 -- Harrison Brown (U-M) v. Jacob Bullard (Texas), 7-5, 4-6, unfinishedÂ
No. 6 -- Cleeve Harper (Texas) d. Ryan Fu (U-M), 7-6 (1), 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 42 Connor Johnston/Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. Christian Sigsgaard/Chih Chi Huang (Texas), 6-4
No. 2 -- Jacob Bullard/Eliot Spizzirri (Texas) d. Andrew Fenty/Nick Beaty (U-M), 7-6 (6)
No. 3 -- Yuya Ito/Cleeve Harper (Texas) d. Harrison Brown/Ryan Fu (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 4-2-1-6-3
Players Mentioned
