April 8, 2012
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Vandy Christie Tennis Center)
Score: No. 28 Michigan 5, No. 48 Northwestern 2
Records: NU (12-7, 5-2 Big Ten), UM (13-5, 6-1 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Friday, April 13 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 2:30 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 28 Michigan proved to be too much to handle for No. 48 Northwestern Sunday as the Wolverines invaded the Vandy Christie Tennis Center on a gorgeous afternoon and left with a hard-earned 5-2 victory.
The loss snapped a five-match winning streak for the Wildcats, who had not dropped a tilt since March 9 against then-No. 20 Illinois.
The 11th-ranked doubles pairing of Evan King and Shaun Bernstein lived up to its billing for Michigan. The Wildcats squad at No.1, Josh Graves and Spencer Wolf, hung tough throughout, but were outscored in the end to the tune of 8-5. The loss snapped a two-match winning streak for the NU duo.
On court No. 2, Raleigh Smith and Alex Pasareanu found themselves in a hole early when Michigan's Barrett Franks and Alex Buzzi raced out to win the first five games. The 'Cats refused to give in, however, and they delivered a solid run of their own by winning three straight games in the face of defeat to cut their deficit to 7-5. Unfortunately, Smith and Pasareanu ran out of steam and fell by a familiar score, 8-5. The victory for Michigan secured the doubles point and gave it a guaranteed 1-0 advantage as the teams headed to the break.
In the match at No. 3, Tobias Reitz and Sidarth Balaji engaged in a hard-fought exchange with Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu of the Wolverines. The Wildcats led 7-5 late in the match, but the Wolverines won two straight games to even the score at seven apiece and force a tiebreaker. Michigan sustained its momentum in the decisive frame, winning 7-4, to complete the sweep of the doubles contests.
Petrone extended the overall lead for the visitors when he downed the 109th-ranked Wolf in straight sets at No. 2. The Wolverine claimed six games in succession to win the first set and thwarted off a spirited comeback by Wolf to win the second stanza, 6-4, and subsequently the match.
The nation's No. 10 singles player and Chicago, native, King, gave family and friends in attendance something to cheer about when he knocked off Graves in straight sets in the top singles match. King won the first set 6-2 and finished off the Northwestern senior, 6-4.
A pair of underclassmen squared off in the No. 5 singles match, where NU freshman Alex Pasareanu faced UM sophomore Barrett Franks. Franks got off to a solid start with a 6-4 win in the opener, but Pasareanu came back to even things up with a 6-3 win of his own in set two. In the decider, Franks' slight experience proved to be the difference as he won 6-2 to earn the fourth point of the day for the Wolverines, allowing them to clinch the Big Ten victory.
Chris Jackman also dropped a heartbreaker for the Wildcats in three sets against Michigan's Alex Buzzi. Like Pasareanu, Jackman lost the first set only to rebound with a score-tying 6-4 in the second. Buzzi won the third frame with relative ease, 6-1. The win was the fourth and final in singles play for Michigan Sunday.
Even though the final outcome was determined, NU's Smith and Balaji kept playing with terrific determination in an attempt to earn a pair of team points. Smith controlled his first set against Bernstein, but narrowly lost the second, 7-6 (6). The Wildcat sophomore was all over Bernstein in the superbreaker, winning 10-5.
Balaji won his first set against Zhu, 6-2, but the Wolverine would not go so quietly in the second set. He rallied back on several occasions and eventually forced a tiebreaker at 6-6. The breaker was an epic battle, but in the end Balaji gutted out a 10-8 win to earn his seventh singles win this spring.
With its four-match homestand now complete, Northwestern will head out on the road for the next three matches. The journey begins Friday afternoon when the 'Cats play guest to the Penn State Nittany Lions at 2:30 p.m.
Doubles
1. No. 11 Evan King/Shaun Bernstein (UM) def. Josh Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) - 8-5
2. Barrett Franks/Alex Buzzi (UM) def. Raleigh Smith/Alex Pasareasnu (NU) - 8-5
3. Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (UM) def. Tobias Reitz/Sidarth Balaji (NU) - 8-7 (4)
Order of finish: 1, 2*, 3
Singles
1. No. 10 Evan King (UM) def. Josh Graves (NU) - 6-2, 6-4
2. Alex Petrone (UM) def. No. 109 Spencer Wolf (NU) - 6-0, 6-4
3. Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Shaun Bernstein (UM) - 6-1, 6-7 (6), 1-0 (5)
4. Sidarth Balaji (NU) def. Michael Zhu (UM) - 6-2, 7-6 (8)
5. Barrett Franks (UM) def. Alex Pasareanu (NU) - 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Alex Buzzi (UM) def. Chris Jackman (NU) - 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 1, 5*, 6, 3, 4
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