Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Rebounds with Victory at Northwestern
3/28/2021 5:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Result: #25 Michigan 4, Northwestern 2
Records: U-M (9-2, 9-1 B1G), NU (8-5, 7-4 BIG)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 3 -- vs. Indiana (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 11 a.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Ondrej Styler helped get the No. 25-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team back on track with a 4-2 win at Northwestern on Sunday (March 28) at Combe Tennis Center, clinching the team match with a 6-3 victory in the third set at No. 2 singles.
After suffering its first Big Ten loss of the season Saturday (March 27) at No. 14 Illinois, Michigan rebounded to improve to 9-2 overall and remains in first place in the Big Ten at 9-1.
The Wolverines had to climb out of 1-0 hole after losing the doubles point. A bright spot for U-M was a 6-4 win by Nick Beaty and Harrison Brown at No. 3, rallying to win four of the last five games after falling behind 3-2.
Styler fell behind in his match at No. 2 singles, dropping the first set, but rallied to win the final two sets, 7-5, 6-3 over Northwestern's Nick Brookes. Tied at 5 in the second set, Styler rattled off two straight games to push it to a third set. Styler never trailed in the final set, winning the final three points for the win.
Mattias Siimar evened the team match at 1, winning at No. 4 singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4 to improve his individual conference record to 9-1. Beaty moved to 8-1 in the Big Ten and 14-3 overall when he took down Simon Bratholm 7-6 (5), 6-4 at No. 5 singles to push the Wolverines ahead, 2-1.
Patrick Maloney won his second straight singles match of the weekend at No. 3, coming out on top, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Down, 3-1, in the second set, he won the next two games to break even at 3-3. At 5-5, Maloney won the last two games, jumping out to a 4-0 edge in the tiebreaker and not looking back to finish off the match.
The Wildcats got within one, 3-2, with Gleb Blekher defeating Connor Johnston at No. 6. The pair split 6-3 sets before Blekher won the third, 6-4.
No. 124-ranked Andrew Fenty trailed 6-3, 3-6, 2-4 at No. 1 singles against Dominik Stary before the match was abandoned after Styler clinhed the team match at No. 2.
Michigan returns home next weekend, hosting Indiana and Purdue at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines will face the Hoosiers on Saturday (April 3) at 11 a.m. and the Boilermakers on Sunday (April 4) at noon.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 124 Andrew Fenty (U-M) vs. Dominik Stary (NU), 6-3, 3-6, 2-4 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 50 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. #123 Nick Brookes (NU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 -- Patrick Maloney (U-M) d. Chris Ephron (NU), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 -- No. 109 Mattias Siimar (U-M) d. Trice Pickens (NU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 -- No. 93 Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Simon Bratholm (NU), 7-6 (5), 6-4
No. 6 -- Gleb Blekher (NU) d. Connor Johnson (U-M), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 13 Nick Brookes/Simen Bratholm (NU) d. No. 23 Andrew Fenty/Mattias Siimar (U-M), 6-4
No. 2 -- Chris Ephron/Dominik Stary (NU) d. Connor Johnston/Ondrej Styler (U-M), 7-6 (0)
No. 3 -- Harrison Brown/Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Gleb Blekher/Natan Spear (NU), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 4-5-3-6-2
Players Mentioned
