Tennis edges Gophers to stay unbeaten

They forgot about Notre Dame.

They edged Minnesota.

Now it confronts mighty Illinois.

The Michigan men's tennis team has been preparing all year for this upcoming weekend's match as it hosts the No. 2 team in the country.

"They're not going to give us any respect," senior co-captain Will Farah said.

FILE PHOTO Jake Raiton and the Michigan men's tennis team takes an undefeated Big Ten record into next weekend's Big Ten showdown with Illinois.

And nobody has.

The Wolverines have been laughed at, looked down upon, and considered a fluke match. But they have proved themselves better than that. The underdog.

"It'll be a great match," Farah said.

Whichever wins this weekend's contest will be the Big Ten champs.

Then, both teams will be competing in the NCAA Championships for a spot in the "Sweet 16" in Athens, Ga.

"I think we match up well against Illinois," freshman Ben Cox said. "People don't give us a chance because they are the No. 2 team in the country. But now people are starting to think of us as more of a threat."

The Wolverines look at the past two matches as a wake-up call to rekindle what they had before - an 11-game winning streak and extreme confidence.

After they fell 6-1 to Notre Dame Wednesday, the Wolverines fought and defeated Minnesota 4-3.

The Wolverines were down 1-0 against the Gophers after being shut out 3-0 in doubles, giving up their third doubles point in as many matches.

Illinois "is going to be a tough match," junior doubles player Brad McFarlane said. "The doubles point is huge against Illinois. It's going to be key in order to beat them."

The doubles loss didn't frustrate Michigan. The Wolverines rebounded to win four of the six singles matches to take the match and tying for first place with Illinois in the Big Ten race with eight wins.

No. 1 singles player Matt Wright controlled his match, defeating Tyson Parry 6-3, 6-2, winning his 17th match of the campaign and his 10th dual match of the season.

Junior John Long obtained his 14th dual-match victor, and improved his overall record to 21-8, second on the team. Long beat Adam Selkirk 6-1, 6-3.

Freshman Danny McCain ended his career-worst four-match losing streak. He picked up his 10th dual match victory and his 16th win of the season when he edged Minnesota's Jan Svensson 7-6, 7-5.

Cox played what he called his "best match of the year" and won his 17th straight dual match 6-3, 6-4 over Jorge Duenas. He remains undefeated in the Big Ten at 8-0 and leads the team with a record of 24-4 overall.

After the long-awaited match against Illinois, the Wolverines will also host Northwestern on Sunday at 1 p.m.

They will host the Big Ten Championships the following weekend.

But, for now, being No. 1 is the only concern.

04-19-99