April 28, 2012
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Vandy Christie Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: #24 Illinois 4, #22 Michigan 0
Records: U-M (17-7), Illinois (16-7)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., May 11-13 -- at NCAA Regionals - First & Second Rounds (Site TBA)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 22 University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped the doubles point and the first three singles matches off court in a 4-0 loss to No. 24 Illinois in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon (April 28) at Northwestern's Vandy Christie Tennis Center.
The Fighting Illini took the first set in five-of-six singles matches and claimed three decisions in straight sets to end the dual match. Tim Kopinski clinched from the No. 4 court, where he used an early break in the second set to defeat freshman Michael Zhu (Princeton, N.J./Keystone National HS), 7-6, 6-2.
Junior Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan Prep) and freshman Alex Petrone (Staten Island, N.Y./Laurel Springs Prep), the Wolverines' two All-Big Ten representatives, were on serve in the third set at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, when the dual match ended.
Illinois reserved a pair of doubles matches from the team's previous season meeting, winning at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to claim the initial point. Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich, ranked 28th in the latest ITA poll, rallied from an early break and closed with back-to-back games to knock off King and sophomore Shaun Bernstein (Plainview, N.Y./Old Bethpage JFK HS), 8-4, at the top spot.
The doubles point had been the difference in Michigan's 4-3 win against the Illini in the regular-season contest.
The Wolverines now await their selection for the NCAA Tournament, with the first round beginning on Friday, May 11, or Saturday, May 12. The NCAA Selection Show will be on Tuesday (May 1) at 5:30 p.m. and can be watched online at NCAA.com.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 7 Evan King (U-M) vs. No. 8 Dennis Nevolo (UI), 3-6, 6-3, 1-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- Alex Petrone (U-M) vs. No. 41 Roy Kalmanovich (UI), 7-5, 3-6, 1-1 abandoned
No. 3 -- Bruno Abdelnour (UI) d. Shaun Bernstein (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- Tim Kopinski (UI) d. Michael Zhu (UM), 7-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- Stephen Hoh (UI) d. Barrett Franks (U-M), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 -- Alex Buzzi (U-M) vs. Farris Gosea (UI), 6-7, 6-6 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 28 Dennis Nevolo/Roy Kalmanovich (UI) d. No. 29 Shaun Bernstein/Evan King (U-M), 8-4
No. 2 -- Tim Kopinski/Ross Guignon (UI) d. Alex Buzzi/Barrett Franks (U-M), 8-5
No. 3 -- Michael Zhu/Alex Petrone (U-M) vs. Stephen Hoh/Farris Goseai (UI), 7-2 abandoned
Order of Completion: Singles 5-3-4, Doubles 1-2
N O T E S
• With today's loss, the Wolverines fell to 64-33-2 in the all-time series against Illinois.
• Matches in postseason play are abandoned once the match is clinched.
• Junior Evan King did not finish a singles match in Big Ten Tournament play. He still holds a 15-match winning streak.
• Michigan lost the doubles point for just the third time against Big Ten competition this season.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
