Michigan
Michigan State
U-M Blanks MSU, Makes History with Fourth Straight Shutout
4/11/2021 3:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Result: #17 Michigan 7, Michigan State 0
Records: U-M (13-2, 13-1 B1G), MSU (5-11, 5-9 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 16 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 4 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team cruised to its fourth straight shutout victory, blanking Michigan State, 7-0, on Sunday (April 11) at the Varsity Tennis Center. It marks the first time since 1987 that the Wolverines have won four consecutive matches via shutout.
The match began outdoors with doubles, highlighted by Kristofer Siimar and Mattias Siimar playing together at No. 2 doubles on Senior Day. It marked the first time the twins teamed up and finished a dual doubles match together, and the chemistry was on point, taking a 6-2 win.
Nino Ehrenschneider and Connor Johnston paired for the second time at No. 3 doubles and claimed a 6-2 win. Ehrenschneider is 5-0 in his doubles matches since he enrolled at Michigan in January. With the win, the Wolverines secured the doubles point.
Andrew Fenty and Nick Beaty led 4-2 at No. 1 doubles before the match was abandoned.
Singles play was started outdoor but after 15 minutes, rain forced the remainder of the match indoors.
Ehrenschneider stayed hot, making quick work at No. 5 singles taking down Luke Baylis 6-0, 6-1. It was his first time playing at the No. 5 position and he is 3-0 in dual singles.
Jacob Bickersteth followed with a win, staying unbeaten at 5-0 at No. 4, besting Graydon Lair, 6-0, 6-3 for his third consecutive singles victory.
At No. 1 singles, Andrew Fenty used a strong forehand to finish off Nick Williams, winning 6-3, 6-1 to improve to 9-2 at the position and 14-7 in singles overall on the season.
On the next court over, Beaty grabbed the win on the next serve taking 6-3, 6-4 games from Josh Mukherjee at No. 3. Beaty entered the match 10-1 in dual play and played his first match at No. 3 for the win. He is 4-0 at No. 5 and 6-1 at No. 6 for a 11-1 dual singles record. He has won his last six matches and is now 17-3.
Johnston won his second straight singles match, taking down Jarreau Campbell 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6.
All eyes were on Court 2 and Mattias Siimar and Carson Gates. Siimar claimed the first set 6-3 but was down 4-5 in the second set. He won the next three games to secure the victory and the perfect team match score.
Now 13-2 on the season and 13-1 in Big Ten play, the Wolverines look to stay hot next Friday (April 16) at Penn State and Sunday (April 18) at Ohio State, with the East Division title on the line.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. Nick Williams (MSU), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 -- Mattias Siimar (U-M) d. Carson Gates (MSU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 -- Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Josh Mukherjee (MSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) d. Graydon Lair (MSU), 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 -- Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M) d. Luke Baylis (MSU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 -- Connor Johnston (U-M) d. Jarreau Campbell (MSU), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Andrew Fenty/Nick Beaty (U-M) vs. Nick Williams/Kazuki Matsuno (MSU), 4-2 unfinished
No. 2 -- Kristofer Siimar/Mattias Siimar (U-M) d. Reed Crocker/Drew Keene (MSU), 6-2
No. 3 -- Nino Ehrenschneider/Connor Johnston (U-M) d. Graydon Lair/Jarreau Campbell (MSU), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 5-4-1-2-6-3
Players Mentioned
