Swan, Long help netters sweep rivals

Boston wasn't the only exciting place for Michigan athletics this past weekend, as the fans at the Varsity Tennis Center saw two Big Ten battles that left them on the edges of their seats.

Big wins from senior Arvid Swan and sophomore John Long helped the Michigan men's tennis team squeeze out two Big Ten wins, against Minnesota yesterday, 4-3, and Iowa on Saturday, 6-1.

But the wins weren't a cakewalk for the Wolverines (4-0 Big Ten, 9-3 overall).

Yesterday, the Golden Gophers, who beat Michigan in the Big Ten Championships last season, was looking for redemption after being upset by Michigan State, 4-3, the day earlier.

"After they lost to Michigan State, they wanted to show that they could play at a certain level," Michigan coach Brian Eisner said.

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily The Michigan men's tennis team defeated Iowa and Minnesota this weekend to improve their Big Ten record to 4-0. The Wolverines have yet to lose a match at the Varsity Tennis Center.

Minnesota's Tom Chicoine didn't disappoint his team as he blew by senior David Paradzik 6-1, 6-2 and Jon Svensson defeated senior captain Brook Blain in straight sets.

Sophomore Matt Wright, who was on fire the previous day against Iowa, kept up the heat in the first set against Adam Selkirk.

But Selkirk pulled away in the second, and in the third, after a 5-5 tie, he sent Wright home with only his second loss in eight matches.

"That is a match that I think normally we should have," Eisner said. "Matt got just himself in a position where he wasn't controlling the tempo like he likes to do."

Suddenly, the tempo shifted, and the Wolverines found themselves down 3-1 and in danger of losing their first match at the Varsity Tennis Center. To win, Michigan needed three victories from its last three singles players.

Junior Will Farah responded first with a comeback win in the first set and a blowout win in the third to finish off Jorge Duenas, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.

Long, tied it at 3-3 with his straight-set victory over Tyson Perry.

Eisner had moved Long into the singles rotation this weekend and while his performance this weekend may not be his very best, he hasn't lost a dual match since early last season.

With Long's win, the match was in a dead heat at 3-3. Both teams' players huddled together, the crowd packed one small set of the bleachers and all eyes turned to the match between Swan and Minnesota's Martin Michalowski.

Swan's eyes had been right on in the first set as he placed several perfect volleys behind his opponent, but in the second, the lead changed hands and ended up 6-6 and in a tiebreaker.

After a strong serve from Michalowski that swung the score to 7-6 in his favor, Swan fought back and won the next three points to take the tiebreaker, the match and the meet for the Wolverines.

"Arvid went after all his shots, he didn't win them all but he didn't back into it," Eisner said.

"This was probably our most emotional win of the year."

Iowa also gave Michigan a run for its money for awhile on Saturday. After winning the doubles point, Michigan fell behind by losing three of the first six sets in singles.

This weekend "was our first home match in awhile and we were a little nervous," Farah said.

Wright was the only Wolverine that completely destroyed his opponent, mostly due to an almost perfect first serve.

"I'm playing with a lot of confidence now," Wright said. "I feel that if I play the way I am capable of, I should win."

- Daily Sports Writer Stephanie Offen contributed to this report.

04-06-98