BY DAVID BRAID
For the Daily
Published October 3, 2007
This was probably not the way freshman Jason Jong envisioned beginning his collegiate career.
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Jung, at one point the top-ranked junior in the nation and Michigan's No. 1 recruit, failed to win a singles match in his first tournament as a Wolverine.
The Torrance, Calif., native dropped a 6-2, 7-6(5) decision to Virginia's Ted Angelinos in the opening round of qualifiers at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships.
Angelinos broke Jung's serve in the opening game of the match and went on to win the first set easily. In the second set, Jung broke Angelinos and raced out to a 3-0 lead. But Angelinos fought back to win the set 7-5 in a tie-breaker.
Even though Jung was not victorious in his debut, Michigan assistant coach Sean Maymi said the freshman's performance showed promise.
"He was actually dictating and controlling a lot of the points in the first set," Maymi said through the Athletic Department. "(Jason) settled in and got a lot of the shots he wanted, he was just unable to execute in the end."
After an early exit, Jung got an opportunity to right the ship in a consolation match against Dylan Arnould of Duke.
Different opponent, same result.
Yet Maymi says it's too early to start worrying about wins and losses and that Jung should eventually turn things around.
"(Jason) will understand that he doesn't have to play too far out of his zone to win matches," Maymi said through the Athletic Department. "Obviously, it's tough when you get a loss, but I definitely feel like he's one of the better freshmen in the country."
Fellow Wolverine Matko Maravic will begin competing in the main singles draw today against qualifier Dmytro Pedrov. Later in the day, Maravic will team with Jung in their firstround doubles match against Florida State's Jean Yves Aubone and Clint Bowles. Maravic hopes to have a repeat performance of last year's tournament when he paired with graduated senior Brian Hung and went all the way to the championship match.
If all goes as planned, it won't be too long before Jung gets his first taste of victory.
