Inside a lively Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday, the No. 5 Michigan men’s tennis team (12-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) dismantled Wisconsin (7-8, 1-1) with clinical precision. The Wolverines controlled the match from start to finish, sweeping all seven possible points for their ninth win in a row.
Since Michigan beat Illinois on Feb. 11, opponents have yet to score more than one point in any match. In that span, the Wolverines have tallied 15 points for every opponent’s one.
“It’s been a fun month,” Michigan head coach Adam Steinberg said.
In doubles play, senior Andrew Fenty and sophomore Nino Ehrenschneider impressed, winning their doubles one set 6-0. Junior Ondrej Styler and sophomore Gavin Young won set two 6-3 to secure the doubles point for the Wolverines.
Leading off singles play, Young continued his momentum. His dominant 6-1 and 6-2 wins secured Michigan’s second point on the day, their first in singles play.
“Gavin played the best I’ve seen him play in a long time,” Steinberg said. “It was a tough match for him, one of his friends from back home, and I thought he played terrific.”
In a tightly contested first set, Ehrenschneider bested the Badgers’ Dzhurinskiy 7-5, before pulling away 6-2 in the second set to secure the penultimate point necessary for the Wolverines’ victory.
Across the complex, Michigan senior Patrick Maloney made quick work of Wisconsin’s Robin Parts, winning the first set 6-1. The second set was fought tooth-and-nail, but Maloney pulled out a close 7-5 victory, sealing the match for Michigan.
Though inconsequential to claiming the win, the final three matches also fell in the Wolverines’ favor.
The win is a reflection of the team’s budding confidence as the wins pile up.
“The guys caught that belief midway through the year and we’ve been rolling,” said Coach Steinberg.