Right after the Wolverines shut out Western Michigan and Ball State 7-0 in two dual-meets Saturday in Muncie, Ind., they immediately shifted their focus toward next weekend’s matches.
A big part of that will be making sure people show up to watch.
On Friday, No. 21 Michigan will take on No. 17 Pepperdine, and on Sunday the team will play No. 1 Virginia. The Wolverines hope the five-match home stretch will be attended by large and enthusiastic crowds.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere, and the more people who come out, the more we feed off of it,” sophomore George Navas said. “We’re expecting a good crowd. We’re trying to get the band out. We’re trying to get support.”
Michigan will enter these home matches with momentum from Saturday’s convincing wins. In Saturday’s 12 singles matches and six doubles matches, Michigan lost just once – a doubles match against Western Michigan. But by winning the other two doubles matches in the meet, Michigan earned the doubles point to cap the 7-0 victory.
Senior captain Matko Maravic and Navas won both of their doubles matches, while both also won their singles matches. Maravic won in two sets with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ball State’s Eduardo Pavia.
Michigan coach Bruce Berque said sophomore Matt Parks’s doubles performance was one of the highlights of the day. In his first collegiate appearance in a dual meet, Parks won his match against Ball State with partner Mike Scroczynski.
The success didn’t end with doubles. No. 55 Jason Jung picked up two solid victories as part of the singles sweep.
Coming off last year’s disappointing postseason, the Wolverines hope these wins are just the beginning.
Berque set high goals for the season, aiming for a chance to play for the Big Ten Title and to go farther than the NCAA regionals. Last season, Michigan couldn’t get past the second round in either tournament, losing to Illinois both times.
Still, the team doesn’t want to think about last year or look too far ahead.
“Most important is a push to try and get as many people as we can to get to come out to next week’s matches,” Berque said.