Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan
Wildcats Unable to Knock Off Wolverines in Ann Arbor
4/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 3, 2010
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fresh of its victory over Michigan State Friday afternoon, No. 48 Northwestern faced a quick turnaround in facing No. 26 Michigan Saturday. Despite a team-leading 10th singles victory by Sidarth Balaji (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), the 'Cats lost a 5-2 decision to the Wolverines, dropping to 1-3 in the conference.
Northwestern (9-8, 1-3) continues a three-match stretch on the road at Wisconsin Friday afternoon before returning home to take on Purdue Sunday, April 11. Michigan (8-7, 4-0) is tied for the Big Ten conference lead.
The day started on the outdoor courts at the Varsity Tennis Center, before being moved indoors midway through doubles because rain started to fall. The 'Cats dropped both No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, giving the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
But even though the point was decided, the Wildcats played hard at No. 2. Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) and Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) handled UM's 33rd-ranked George Navas and Mike Scroczynski, 8-6, handing them just their fourth loss of the season.
Michigan jumped out to a quick lead behind straight set victories at the top two singles spots. No. 41 Jason Jung took at NU's Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) at No. 2 with a 6-3, 6-1 decision.
At No. 1, the Wolverines' Evan King took out Graves with a 6-2, 6-2 victory to give Michigan a 3-0 lead. Northwestern got on the board with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) Alex Sanborn defeat of Chris Cha at No. 6. Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) notched his second consecutive victory.
The Wolverines clinched the match behind a tough three-setter at No. 5, which saw Chris Madden come back from a set down to defeat NU's Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck). The NU sophomore took the first set, 6-4, but Madden managed to escape with the next two frames.
Balaji scored his team-leading 10th victory with three-setter over Michigan senior Mike Sroczynski to give NU its second point of the dual. The freshman Wildcat has won six of his last seven matches, playing at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.
The dual ended with another three-setter between George Navas and Spencer Wolf. The UM senior took the first set before Wolf fought back to take the second. The match was suspended for about 15 minutes in the third sets when lights in the tennis center went off, but Navas won it when play resumed.
Northwestern continues its Big Ten slate, facing the Badgers in Madison, Wis. on April 9. Play is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT.
#26 Michigan 5, #48 Northwestern 2
Singles:
1. No. 97 Evan King (U-M) d. No. 84 Joshua Graves (NU): 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 41 Jason Jung (U-M) d. Andrew McCarthy (NU): 6-3, 6-1
3. Sidarth Balaji (NU) d. Mike Sroczynski (U-M): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. George Navas (U-M) d. Spencer Wolf (NU): 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
5. Chris Madden (U-M) d. Tobias Reitz (NU): 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Alex Sanborn (NU) d. Chris Cha (U-M): 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Doubles:
1. No. 43 Jason Jung/Evan King (U-M) d. Tobias Reitz/Andrew McCarthy (NU): 8-4
2. Joshua Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) d. No. 33 George Navas/Mike Sroczynski (U-M): 8-6
3. Chris Cha/Chris Madden (U-M) d. Alex Sanborn/Eric Spector (NU): 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles: 1, 3, 2; Singles: 2, 1, 6, 5*, 3, 4
