COLUMBUS — The look on Michigan men’s tennis coach Bruce Berque’s face told the whole story.

The 35th-ranked Wolverines had just lost to No. 3 Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. It was the third time Michigan lost to the Buckeyes in the last month.

As Berque laid down his bags in front of his team, ready to address his players after the tough 4-1 loss, the frustration of losing to their rivals yet again was apparent.

But while Berque was frustrated with the end result, he was satisfied with his team's work ethic.

“Our goal today was to play hard right from the beginning and to go into the match thinking we could win, and we didn’t do that in doubles so that was disappointing," Berque said.

The slow start in doubles cost the team its chance at advancing in the tournament.

Saturday, Michigan (14-15 overall) didn’t have that point — just like the previous two contests against the Buckeyes — and it needed that point this weekend to have any chance of advancing.

“I didn’t feel like we were nervous, but we certainly played badly,” Berque said. “We came out and made a bunch of errors on all three courts in the first games. ...You get on your heels a bit then, and I think the bad start hurt us.”

Ohio State (33-1) garnered the first two singles matches at No. 3 and No. 5, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the match.

That’s when Jason Jung made his statement. Michigan's 93rd-ranked sophomore defeated the No. 3 ranked player in the country, Bryan Koniecko, in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). The win gave the Wolverines their lone point of the day.

Soon after the upset win, Buckeye Steven Moneke finally sealed the victory at No. 2 singles as he defeated senior Andrew Mazlin.

The Wolverines were far from disappointed about the season’s outcome. After starting the season with a 5-0 mark, the team lost 12 of its next 13 matches before closing out the season with wins in eight of its last 11 contests.

“It was a pretty long season with some ups and downs,” junior George Navas said. “There’s kind of mixed emotions — I’m proud of the way we bounced back from the huge slump to make the (NCAA) Tournament and give Ohio State a competitive match two times in a row. … But we didn’t do enough work during the body of the season to earn the opportunity to play a team like (Ohio State) later on in the Tournament.”

Next year, the team returns the bulk of its starting singles and doubles lineup. And with the incoming tandem of high school standouts Chris Cha and Evan King, the top-rated recruit in the country, the Wolverines could have an opportunity to contend for a Big Ten Championship and to go deeper in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m proud of (the team) for regrouping when a lot of people probably were about to write us off for dead,” Berque said. “Even though (the Buckeyes) were clearly the better team ... I do think we accomplished something and we established the belief that it’s possible.”