Virginia meets pose early challenge for men's tennis

Three Wolverines seeking 10th win against Hokies and Cavaliers

This weekend the Michigan men's tennis team faces a big challenge when it travels to Charlottesville, Va., to play two pivotal early season matches against Virginia Tech and Virginia.

"If we go down to Virginia, play hard, and return to Ann Arbor victorious, it will give us a great deal of momentum going into our upcoming matches," freshman Ben Cox said.

The Hoakies and Cavaliers are ranked 41st and 34th, respectively, in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The undefeated Wolverines are ranked 59th in the nation, and seventh in the Midwest region.

Senior Will Farah and the rest of the Michigan men's tennis team will face some tough competition this weekend against Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Michigan is led by junior Matt Wright. He is the number one singles player for the team, and has a 9-3 record this season.

There are three Michigan players that currently have nine victories. They are Wright, junior John Long and freshman Danny McCain.

With a victory this weekend they could each reach double digits in the win column.

Last year, Michigan barely edged out both Virginia Tech and Virginia. The Wolverines defeated the Cavaliers in Ann Arbor and the Hokies at a neutral site match in Boise, Idaho. The score in both of the matches was 4-3.

Virginia Tech have three players that are ranked among the top 100 in the country.

They are led by the Marchetti brothers, Adam and Aaron. Adam is a sophomore and is ranked 23rd, and his brother Aaron, a senior, is ranked 38th.

Another big contributor is sophomore Niels Oggeson, a student from Denmark, who is ranked 72nd.

Virginia is led by sophomore sensation Brian Vahaly. Vahaly is the second-ranked singles player in the country, and is the pre-season favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference men's singles title.

The Michigan men's tennis team opened up their dual match season with impressive home victories over William & Mary and DePaul.

The Wolverines destroyed both teams by the score of 7-0. It was the first time since 1994 that the Wolverines registered back-to-back shutouts.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily

01-28-99