Heading into the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the Michigan men’s tennis team would face its toughest test of its season.

And despite the hard-fought effort against No. 4 Ohio State, the Wolverines were soundly defeated, 4-1, and, thus, eliminated from the tournament at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.

After dropping the doubles point in two close matches, the Wolverines never recovered.

Ohio State jumped out to a crushing 3-0 lead, but freshman Chris Cha won his singles match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, and was responsible for Michigan’s lone point on the day.

“A win over Ohio State in the NCAAs is big,” Michigan coach Bruce Berque said in reference to Cha. “He finished the season going in the right direction. Over the last three to four weeks, he’s really played well and his hard work is paying off.”

Even though Cha provided a small glimmer of hope, Ohio State freshman Dino Marcan ended Michigan’s tournament run shortly thereafter by defeating senior Mike Sroczynski in threes sets.

Berque was encouraged by the effort, but knew his team had to put forth a flawless performance in order to top the Buckeyes.

“Our guys came ready to play today and weren’t intimidated,” Berque said. “We never really took advantage of our opportunities. When we had our chance to take the doubles point or win a few of the singles matches, we didn’t step up and play aggressively.”

The defeat meant the end to the Wolverines season, but not for two members of the team.

Junior Jason Jung and freshman Evan King will now begin to prepare for the NCAA Individual Championships, which begin Wednesday, May 26, in Athens, Georgia.

Despite the demoralizing loss to Big Ten Conference Champion Ohio State, Berque is pleased about the future prospects of his team.

“After seeing how our guys competed today, I feel we have the confidence to take the next steps and win Big Ten titles and advance through NCAA tournaments.”