Michigan
Louisville
Michigan Pushes Past Louisville in Return to Varsity Tennis Center
4/2/2023 4:13:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, Louisville 3
Records: U-M (17-2), UL (12-9)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 7 -- vs. Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team dug deep to push past Louisville 4-3 on Sunday (April 2) in the team's first match at the Varsity Tennis Center in more than a month.
Down 1-0 after the doubles point, Michigan won four of six first sets in singles but suddenly found itself in trouble as three matches were pushed to third sets.
Nino Ehrenschneider put the Wolverines on the board with his first match and first win at No. 4 singles, defeating Sergio Hernandez 6-1, 7-6 (4). After a quick first set, Ehrenschneider fell behind in the second, but never trailed by more than one game. They traded games to 6-6 before the tiebreaker. Ehrenschneider grabbed a 3-1 edge, but Hernandez fought back to make it 3-3. The tide turned again as Ehrenschneider won four of the next five points to win the tiebreaker 7-4.
No. 10-ranked Andrew Fenty put Michigan on top 2-1 with his fifth straight singles decision. With a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over No. 76 Natan Rodrigues, Fenty improves to 26-7 in his career when he faces a ranked opponent.
Jacob Bickersteth rallied from dropping his first set 6-3 at No. 5 singles to grab matching 6-1 victories over Matthew Fung -- his third straight singles win -- as he pushed Michigan ahead 3-1.
No. 31 Etienne Donnet handed No. 23 Patrick Maloney his first loss of the season in a three-set match at No. 2 singles. Maloney won the first set 6-3, but Donnet went up 4-0 in the second set and took it 6-1. In the third, it was tied 3-3 before Donnet won the last three games for the 6-3 final. It marked the first singles loss for Maloney since April 29, 2022.
No. 55 Fabian Salle made things interesting when he pushed the Cardinals within one, 3-2, with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) decisions over No. 40 Gavin Young.
With all eyes on court 6, Will Cooksey delivered in the third set after splitting 6-1 sets with Andre Steinbach. Cooksey grabbed a 3-1 advantage and held on to win the final set 6-4 for his fifth straight victory.
The Wolverines started the match down 1-0 after Louisville captured the doubles point. It marked just the sixth time U-M has lost the doubles point this season and the fourth time it has recovered for a team win.
Fenty and Young, ranked No. 8 in doubles took a 6-3 match from Donnet and Alex Wesbrooks. Though the duo never trailed in the match, they sat tied 3-3 before rattling off three straight games including two break points.
Maloney and Ehrenschneider suffered their first loss as a pair, dropping a 6-4 match at No. 2 to Salle and Fung. The Cards rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win the three straight to take the match leaving it up to No. 3 doubles.
Cooksey and Bjorn Swenson went up 2-1 but lost the next three games to fall into a 4-2 deficit. The pair captured the next game, but the Cards took the last two to clinch the match 6-3 and the doubles point.
Michigan continues its three-match homestand next Friday and Sunday (April 7-9) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines will face Penn State on Friday (April 7) at 4 p.m., and Ohio State on Sunday (April 9) at noon.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 10 Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. No. 76 Natan Rodrigues (UL), 6-1, 7-6 (5)
No. 2 – No. 31 Etienne Donnet (UL)d. No. 23 Patrick Maloney (U-M),  6-3, 1-6, 3-6
No. 3 –No. 55 Fabian Salle (UL) d. No. 40 Gavin Young (U-M), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7)
No. 4 – Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M) d. Sergio Hernandez (UL), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 – Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) d. Matthew Fung (UL), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 – No. 117 Will Cooksey (U-M) d. Andre Steinbach (UL), 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 8 Andrew Fenty/Gavin Young (U-M) d. Donnet/Alex Wesbrooks (UL), 6-3
No. 2 – Fabian Salle/Matthew Fung (UL) d. Patrick Maloney/Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M), 6-4
No. 3 – Natan Rodrigues/Sergio Hernandez (UL) d. Will Cooksey/Bjorn Swenson (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 4-1-5-2-3-6
Players Mentioned
