Michigan women's tennis heading to third straight Sweet 16, men in second round
It was a bit too close for comfort, but the end result was well worth it.
And for the third consecutive season, the Michigan women's tennis team will head to the Sweet 16.
The 15th-ranked Wolverines came from behind Saturday to knock off No. 19 Texas A&M, 4-3, during an NCAA Tournament second round match at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor.
After falling behind early, Michigan rallied to knot the dual score at 3-3 before sophomore Brooke Bolender came from behind to knock off A&M's Nazari Urbina (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) in the final match of the day to give the Wolverines the victory.
Brooke Bolender
Saturday marked the third time this season, and second time in three weeks, that a dual was decided on Bolender's final match. With the win, the sophomore improves to 25-11 on the year.
Michigan also earned singles victories from Sarah Lee (6-2, 6-2 over Janelle Cuthbertson), Kristen Dodge (7-5, 6-1 over Lauren Santacroce) and Michelle Sulahian (6-1, 6-3 over Janine Erasmus).
Michigan's lone doubles win came from the team of Mimi Nguyen and Sulahian, who knocked off Nazari Urbina and Jannelle Cuthbertson, 8-2.
With the victory, Michigan advances to battle second-seeded Florida on Thursday during a Sweet 16 matchup at the University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Men's tennis earns NCAA first round win
The 21sth-ranked Michigan men's tennis team made quick work of Middle Tennessee State on Saturday during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the Blue Raiders 4-0 in Oxford, Miss.
The Wolverines swept the doubles matches and got singles wins from Evan King (No. 1), Alex Petrone (No. 2) and
Barrett Franks (No. 5). Michigan was tied or trailed the other three singles matches when they were abandoned upon the Wolverines clinching the victory.
Michigan will now battle No. 13 Mississippi on Sunday in the second round.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
Comments
BobbyJohn
Tue, May 15, 2012 : 6:32 p.m.
Congrats to the UM women's team on advancing to the sweet 16. However, I was troubled by some lapses in good sportsmanship which I felt occurred during the match. I saw UM women, numerous times, yell out on unforced errors by their opponents. (By the way, not once did I see Texas A & M do the same.) I also saw the #2 singles player act immaturely when a ball was called out by the opposing player. When asked by the UM player, the official confirmed that the ball was out. (Looked out to me also) When walking back to the baseline, Brooke loudly calls out "What a hook". As a UM tennis fan, I find this behavior unsportsmanlike, immature, uncalled for and embarrassing. Come on coach, talk to the players on your team. Go Blue, and good luck in Georgia.