April 24, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- No. 42 Northwestern dropped a heartbreaking 4-2 match to tournament host No. 37 Michigan in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament Friday afternoon. It was déjà vu to the March 29 regular season dual between the two teams, which was also determined by a three-set win by Jason Jung over NU's Marc Dwyer at No. 1 singles.
The `Cats are still in the hunt for an NCAA bid as much will be determined in this final weekend of conference tournaments around the nation. The 2009 NCAA tournament bracket will be announced Tuesday evening.On a sunny but blustery day with winds averaging 20 miles per hour and gusting to 30, the match of the tournament thus far was a gritty No. 3 singles match between Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) and Mike Sroczynski. With Michigan leading the dual 3-1, Wildcat freshman saved three match points to keep the `Cats' hopes alive and continue play in the three remaining matches on court.
In the first frame, the two players exchanged breaks early before Sroczynski broke Reitz's final service game for a 7-5 win. The second set was absolutely riveting as the Wolverine took a 3-0 lead only for the NU freshman to fight back and even it at 3-all. In the next game, Sroczynski was his own worst enemy as he dropped serve after being penalized a point for a racket abuse code violation. With the wind wreaking havoc all day with service tosses and lobs, the NU freshman missed a few serves to drop the game and the set was evened at 4-4.
While serving down 4-5, Reitz saved a match point that would have won the dual for Michigan if it had gone the other way. Two games later, the Wildcat freshman saved two more match points to force a tiebreak and keep the `Cats alive. In the tiebreak, the two players were evenly matched until a series of well-placed groundstrokes gave Reitz a mini-break, which he capitalized on with a service winner to claim the set, 7-4 in the breaker.
The third set was no less exciting as the two players held tough during their service games. Reitz got a break point opportunity with a beautiful backhand volley, but Sroczynski managed to hold. Reitz then saved a break point of his own in the next game. With a 5-4 lead, Reitz's match was left unfinished because the dual was decided at No. 1 singles.
Senior Marc Dwyer dropped his No. 1 singles match to Jason Jung, 6-4 in the third set, which was identical to the March 29 regular season decision between the two teams. The Wildcat senior cruised to the first set, 6-3, with high-percentage serves as he moved his opponent around the court with strong groundstrokes. The Wolverine fought back to take the second frame by the same score.
Serving down 2-3 in the third set, Jung took an injury timeout that changed the rhythm of the match. Jung emerged from the timeout with better movement and broke to take a 5-4 lead. Dwyer fought hard, but dropped the 6-4 decision.
Michigan escaped with the lead after doubles thanks to a win at No. 1 and a nailbiter at No. 2. Michigan's duo of Jason Jung and George Navas defeated Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska - Independent Study H.S.) by an 8-3 score.
Northwestern evened it with a win at No. 3 by Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) and Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) over Mike Sroczynski and Peter Aarts. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 2-1 break on a Thams forehand; the Wolverines managed to even it only to have the `Cats break right back with a McCarthy backhand on the line. McCarthy sealed the 8-6 victory with an ace down the T.
Michigan escaped with the doubles point thanks to a win by Andrew Mazlin and Chris Madden at No. 2 over Reitz and Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet). After saving two break points early in the match, the `Cats held serve easily and the two teams were locked in a tight match. Serving to even the match at 7-all, the `Cats staved off two match points before the Wolverines finally managed to break for the 8-6 win.
Northwestern's Alexander Thams tied it up at 1-all with a straight set victory over Michigan's Andrew Mazlin. The two players exchanged breaks to open the match and Thams stayed tenacious, breaking for 5-3 and taking the first frame, 6-3. In the second set, the Wildcat was even more dominant, breaking twice en route to a 6-2 win.
Michigan took the lead again with a Chris Madden win at No. 4 singles over freshman Josh Graves. The Wolverine took the first set, 6-1, but the Wildcat immediately fought back to open the second and kept it close. Graves saved a break point, but was broken while serving down 4-5 and then Madden held for the victory.
The Wolverines built on their lead with a 6-3, 6-1 Drew Daniel victory at No. 6 singles over NU's Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North). The two players exchanged breaks early in the first set, but Daniel managed to secure one more to win that frame.
The Wildcats narrowed the gap to 3-2 thanks to a steely performance by Alex Sanborn at No. 5, who avenged his earlier doubles loss to George Navas. The Wildcat captain cruised to the first set, 6-3, with a match point that deserved a highlight reel as Sanborn sent three Navas overheads back over the net with tough lobs before finally forcing the Wolverine to make an error. Navas rebounded to take the second by the same score but with the match continuing thanks to Reitz's gutsy effort at No. 3, Sanborn did not waste the opportunity and took the match, 6-1, in the third.
No. 4 Michigan 4, No. 5 Northwestern 2
Singles
No. 1 -- #88 Jason Jung (U-M) d. Marc Dwyer (NU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Alexander Thams (NU) d. Andrew Mazlin (U-M), 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 -- Mike Sroczynski (U-M) vs. Tobias Reitz (NU), 7-5, 6-7(4), 4-5 (unfinished)
No. 4 -- Chris Madden (U-M) d. Joshua Graves (NU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 -- Alex Sanborn (NU) d. George Navas, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
No. 6 -- Drew Daniel (U-M) d. Eric Spector (NU), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- #51 Jung/Navas (U-M) d. Dwyer/Sanborn (NU), 8-3
No. 2 -- Madden/Mazlin (U-M) d. Graves/ Reitz (NU), 8-6
No. 3 -- Andrew McCarthy/Thams (NU) d. Peter Aarts/Sroczynski, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 2-4-6-5-1