Weary tennis ends road swing with 6-1 loss to Irish

If you play with fire, you might get burned.

The Michigan men's tennis team had won its last 11 meets and had won the first three meets on its four-meet road trip when the team arrived in South Bend to meet Notre Dame.

The team's last two meets had been 4-3 scares from conference foes Indiana and Purdue.

But the team was confident it could beat No. 33 Notre Dame, and traveled to South Bend intent on doing exactly that.

But the Fighting Irish pulled the upset, won 6-1 and improved their record to 14-7. It was just the Wolverines' second loss on the season, dropping them to 14-2.

DHANI JONES/Daily Matt Wright was unable to pull out a singles victory yesterday as the Michigan men's tennis team fell, 6-1, to Notre Dame. After playing six meets in 10 days, the Wolverines now have a three-day hiatus before they face Minnesota.

"If we had to have a flat match, it's good that it came against Notre Dame," junior Brad McFarlane said. "This brings us back down to Earth. This shows us that we still have a lot of work if we want to win the Big Ten championship."

The Wolverines, who have been successful at battling adversity all year, did not have enough to get through this tough string of matches.

Notre Dame was the team's sixth opponent in 10 days, and fatigue played a part in the lopsided loss.

But Michigan still views the road trip as a success, even after the tough loss.

"It was tough," McFarlane said. "It was good though, especially the win against Purdue," McFarlane said. "We're a little disappointed, but a lot of today had to do with playing six matches in 10 days."

McFarlane acknowledged that fresh legs might have benefited the Wolverines.

"Our practices were good, but we were fatigued," McFarlane said. "Not so much physically as mentally. It's one thing to say that you won't get let it (fatigue) get to you, but it's another to actually go out there and do it every point."

The lone Michigan victor was freshman Ben Cox, who maintained his impressive undefeated record in the dual-match portion of the season with a straight set victory over Andy Warford at the No. 6 singles spot. The freshman is now 16-0 on the season.

The Wolverines will now have three days off before they face their next opponent, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers beat Notre Dame earlier in the season, and have been ranked as high as No. 22 in the country this season.

The Gophers will come to the Varsity Tennis Center Sunday. The Wolverines need to beat Minnesota if they are to stay on pace with No. 2 Illinois atop the Big Ten and keep alive their goal of finishing the season in the top 20.

"We expect a tough match," McFarlane said. They beat Notre Dame and have been ranked as high as No. 22 this year. The doubles point will be huge.

"It's definitely a winnable match. I won't be surprised if it's a 4-3 match. Hopefully, we'll win."

04-15-99