Eisner's squad primed for Big Tens - and beyond

Michigan men's tennis coach Brian Eisner says his team is looking far past the Big Ten Championships, even further than the regional championships.

The Wolverines are experienced and deep - and one of the most dangerous teams in the country. What better time than now for the Wolverines to make a run for the NCAA Tournament?

In collegiate tennis, for a northern team to gain entry to the NCAA Tournament is always a big deal, because the warmer-weather schools usually have the strongest teams.

But there are several roadblocks along the path to the championships in Athens, Ga.

First, the Wolverines have two more huge matches at home. They will try to end their regular season with a couple wins, starting with a match against Illinois (7-0 Big Ten, 15-5 overall) on Saturday and Purdue (5-3, 10-9) on Sunday.

Illinois is undefeated in Big Ten play and alone at the top of the Big Ten standings, one match ahead of Michigan. The defending Big Ten champion's 7-0 conference start is the squad's best in Big Ten play since 1972.

Illinois also beat rivals Notre Dame and Northwestern, two teams to which Michigan lost last week.

Michigan (6-1, 12-5) is alone in second place, and with wins against the Illini and Purdue would earn the best outright record in the Big Ten - plus the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

But the Wolverines have lost two of three after a six-game winning streak. And if the Wolverines lost to the tough singles of Notre Dame and Northwestern, the future doesn't bode well against the Fighting Illini - 8th-ranked Illinois has some of the strongest singles in the nation.

Oliver Freelove and Cary Franklin lead the power lineup and are highly regarded for their strong serves. Gavin Sontag and Jakub Teply head the supporting cast for the Illini.

While the Wolverines have dominated against the weaker teams in singles - as in Wisconsin on Sunday, when they dominated five of the six matches - they have fallen short against tough singles teams.

Simply put, the Wolverines aren't getting the singles wins they need to earn a big victory.

"It's not what 'they' are doing, it's what 'we' are doing," Eisner said. "If we play our best tennis, we expect to win."

Another problem for the Wolverines has been the total collapse at doubles of late.

Starting the Big Ten season with six straight wins, the No. 2 doubles tandem of Matt Wright and Jake Raiton faltered this past weekend with three straight losses.

The No. 3 doubles team, which switched lineups last week, has lost six straight. Eisner and assistant Dan Goldberg will search this week for the right combination.

"We have to determine if we have just had a bad couple of days, or if there needs to be a change," Goldberg said.

But the No. 1 tandem of Brook Blain and Arvid Swan is playing its best doubles ever, and the two have been almost unstoppable in singles as of late.

In addition, Michigan isn't in any real trouble. After all, the two recent losses were both extremely close contests that could have gone either way.

"The Northwestern coach said that this (weekend's) match was their best performance this season," Eisner said. "We just have to keep improving."

Two wins this weekend would put Michigan in good position for the Big Ten Tournament which Illinois will host from April 30-May 3.

The tournament starts out with a play-in tournament between the bottom four teams in the conference. The team that survives will then join the top seven for the championship tourney.

After Big Tens, the Wolverines are almost guaranteed, barring a catastrophe, a spot in the regional championships at Notre Dame starting May 15. Michigan has a good chance to qualify, as do Big Ten teams Northwestern and Illinois, along with host Notre Dame. The single regional winner gains a bid to the NCAA Championships at the end of May.

04-21-98