EAST LANSING - After dominating most of the individual-based tournaments last fall, the Michigan men's tennis team looked to be a power again in East Lansing at the Big Ten singles championships this past weekend.
But East Lansing isn't always the most friendly of places.
The Wolverines struggled the entire weekend as all six of their players lost within the first three rounds of the open-draw, 64-player tournament.
Northwestern's Alex Witt again stopped the Wolverines' best chance at advancing.
Last fall at the Rolex Regional Championships, Witt stifled the Wolverines, knocking out three Michigan players.
 |
| MARGARET MYERS/Daily Michigan tennis player Will Farah was one of five Wolverines to advance to the second round in the Big Ten singles championships in East Lansing, yesterday. Senior captain Brook Blain went the furthest in the tournament, reaching the third round. |
"Some of the guys, including myself, were just not as focused as we were in the fall," Blain said. "We need to get that back."
Seniors Arvid Swan and Dave Paradzik along with juniors Jake Raiton and Will Farah each advanced to the second round. Illinois' Matt Synder upset eighth-seed Matt Wright in the first round.
One reason for the sudden losses could be Michigan State's courts. The courts at Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center are much slower - the speed of the balls off the surface is slower than the quick courts in East Lansing.
"The faster the speed of the courts, the closer the competition becomes," Michigan coach Brian Eisner said. "The timing becomes more difficult."
But the losses are not a disaster. Ironically, they might have been a blessing.
"It gives us a chance to sit down and take a hard look at some things that we got to do to play the kind of tennis we have to play," Eisner said. "We, just as a team overall, didn't play as high a caliber of tennis as we had played.
Although the Wolverines had success against those same players in the fall, their opponenents returned the favor in the weekend's conference tournament.
"Every competition we basically have been in this fall, our performance has been the best of probably any team in the tournaments," Eisner said. "So it's kind of something you like to get used to.
"Personally, for the rest of the conference, some of the teams have really picked up their play."
The singles championship concluded a long fall season of individual tournaments that have little effect on the team's standing and record. With a firm list of things that need to be done, the Wolverines now can prepare for the upcoming dual meet season when they will face opponents as a whole team instead of just individually.
"When the team events and dual matches roll around, everybody is going to be a little more focused," Blain said. "Everybody will be on the same page and we should definitely have better results."
The singles tournament does bring all the Big Ten teams together for a preview of who will likely be the power of the season, and after its play this weekend Northwestern appears to be the favorite for the Big Ten title.
The Wildcats, after dropping many close matches to the Wolverines at regionals, bounced back to dominate the field.
Northwestern's, Doug Bohaboy, Marc Silva and Witt all marched their way to the semifinals.
In fact, Silva upset Witt in the finals.
Illinois, last year's Big Ten champion, struggled as much as Michigan did, managing to place only Oliver Freelove in the semifinals.
Still, the Wolverines don't seem worried.
"I don't think our results here have hurt our confidence at all," Blain said. "I still think that everyone believes we have a legitimate shot at the Big Ten."
Next up for No. 42 Michigan will be its first dual match at home against No. 31 Virginia this Sunday.
01-27-98
| Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |