The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 — 7A
Pacific breeze
Michigan sweeps through West Coast trip, beating Washington on Friday and Oregon on Saturday
After a disappointing loss
in its season opener to No. 23
North Carolina State, the No.
17 Michigan men’s tennis team
(2-1) headed to the Pacific
Northwest in search of its first
win of the season. The team
bounced
back
in
dominant
fashion, notching wins over
a pair of undefeated Pac-12
opponents.
Last Friday, Michigan blew
the doors off a then-undefeated
Washington (2-1) team, going
6-0 in singles matches and 2-0
in doubles. Just two days later,
the Wolverines headed south
to face off against Oregon (3-1),
and once again won the match
decidedly, winning four of six
singles matches as well as both
doubles matches.
In an effort to prevent a
repeat of the team’s opener,
the Wolverines’ underclassmen
stepped up, with sophomore
Andrew
Fenty
and
true
freshman
Ondrej
Styler
combining
4-0
against
the
Huskies, winning a singles and
doubles match apiece.
Notable was the team’s sweep
in
doubles
matches,
which
have emerged as Michigan’s
strength.
The
combination
of Fenty and junior Mattias
Siimar is 3-0 this season and
is currently the fifth-ranked
doubles team in the country,
giving the Wolverines a big edge
in the doubles game. Michigan
has won the doubles point in
all three of its regular season
matches this season, and twice
clinched the point early.
“It all stems from our energy
in doubles,” Michigan coach
Adam Steinberg said. “I thought
we played really well both days
and that set the tone for us.
We came out, won the doubles
point, got up in some matches
in singles and started feeling
comfortable.
That’s
what
happened in Washington.”
The team’s usual dominance
in
the
doubles
game
was
accompanied by an especially
strong
singles
performance.
Five of the six singles matches
were won in straight sets,
with Nick Beaty taking care
of business with a 6-2, 6-1
performance.
With the strength of their
doubles team and a wealth of
experience, a return to the
NCAA tournament for the fifth
straight year seems likely given
the wealth of young talent
the Wolverines have at their
disposal.
There’s Fenty, who had one
of the best freshman seasons in
Michigan tennis history. The
Washington, D.C.-native took
home the ITA Freshman of the
Year and Big Ten Freshman of
Year awards, was voted First-
Team All-Big Ten and compiled
a 27-7 record in singles play.
Then
there’s
Styler,
the
team’s only freshman. Hailing
from the Czech Republic, Styler
was a force on the junior circuit,
reaching a No. 13 world ranking
and winning the Junior French
Open. While the transition
from junior tennis to the college
level is always difficult, Styler
appears to be transitioning into
the game right in time for the
Wolverines’ regular season.
Looking ahead, the team will
look to build on the momentum
from the two wins, heading to
the ITA Kick-off Tournament
next weekend, where they look
to potentially face off against
No. 13 Illinois in a preview of
what could be an important
conference matchup down the
road.
“The guys responded really
well on the road,” Steinberg
said. “These are two very tough
teams, and coming off a loss it’s
not easy. Especially with the
schedule we have, it’s tough
every single match, so I know
how big it was that we won at
Washington and then had a
great win yesterday against
Oregon.”
Eugene
was
unfamiliar
territory to the Wolverines on
their first away trip of the spring
season
for
Sunday’s
match
against Oregon. Nonetheless
the No. 17 Michigan men’s
tennis team (2-1) took on their
new opponent in stride with
a 5-2 win in both singles and
doubles.
The
Wolverines’
West
Coast trip proved to be a
successful one on the heels of
a tough loss at home to North
Carolina State last week, with
another dominant 7-0 win over
Washington on Friday.
“These are Pac-12 teams
with a tough schedule and
they’re used to playing top
teams,” Michigan coach Adam
Steinberg said. “So we knew
they were going to make a run,
but we withstood it and it was a
great win.”
The Wolverines’ two doubles
pairs made quick work of the
Ducks, who were the highest-
ranked
doubles
opposition
they’ve faced this season. After
an initial 4-0 run, the duo of
sophomore Andrew Fenty and
junior Mattias Siimar withstood
a four-point Oregon comeback
to ultimately come away with
a 6-4 win. In the second set,
freshman Ondrej Styler and
senior Connor Johnston were
tied with Oregon before taking
the
last
three
games
and
securing the win, guaranteeing
Michigan the doubles point.
“Having a great team stems
from having great doubles,”
Steinberg said. “So especially
on the road, to get the doubles
point was a big lift for us.”
Singles play was more mixed.
Styler, still new to the college
tennis circuit, put on a confident
performance against Oregon’s
Emmanuel Coste with wins in
two straight sets. Senior Nick
Beaty brought the Wolverines’
lead
to
3-0
with
another
straight-sets victory over Luke
Vandecasteele. Mattias Siimar
won both sets as well to solidify
Michigan’s
singles’
victory.
Juniors Harrison Brown and
Kristofer Siimar ultimately fell
to Oregon after dominant wins
in their first sets.
“I’m glad we won all six
first sets in singles but then we
let
them
back
in,
which
is
something
we
have to work on,”
Steinberg
said.
“If
there
was
one negative, it’s
that we have to
work on keeping
our foot on the
gas like I know
we’re capable of
doing.”
Steinberg was
particularly impressed by Styler
and
Beaty’s
performances,
given how little they’ve played
this season.
“Ondrej had a great weekend
and his wins were a big lift for us
in terms of his spirit as well as
getting used to playing college
tennis,” Steinberg said. “Beaty
really stood out as well with his
win, and given he hasn’t played
as much in his college career so
it was great to see.”
Given Michigan has never
played
at
Oregon
before
as well as the
difficult
time
they had against
the
Wolfpack
last
week,
Steinberg found
this win to be
particularly
uplifting.
“I
think
it
challenged the
team
to
start
the schedule like this, going
out west to play in these tough
environments in a place we’ve
never been before,” Steinberg
said. “So I think it got us
much more match-ready going
forward.”
PAARTH SHARMA
Daily Sports Writer
AIDAN WOUTAS
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore Andrew Fenty is coming off a historically strong freshman season and won both his doubles matches this weekend, at Oregon and Washington.
We have
to work on
keeping our
foot on the gas.
Upperclassmen stepping up and making an impact for Wolverines
The seniors were chatting at
the back of the bus.
Last weekend, the flight to
State College didn’t go exactly
as planned. It got redirected
to Harrisburg, Penn., and from
there the Michigan hockey
team had to bus two hours to
its rightful destination of State
College.
While the Wolverines were
en
route,
the
seniors all sat
together in the
last
rows
and
talked
about
their
play.
Defensively,
they had things
locked
down.
Offensively, they
had to find a
spark.
“We’re
like
‘Oh, all we need is just kind of
start clicking on offense, and
we’ll start taking off,’ ” senior
forward Nick Pastujov said.
Eleven goals were scored over
two games against Penn State —
leading to a 6-0 win Friday, and
a 4-4 tie and double-overtime
win Saturday. Seniors accounted
for four of those goals. They had
pieced it together. In addition
to scoring, they
accounted
for
five
assists.
The
seniors
had ignited the
offense.
“Some
of
the
younger
guys
are
still
overperforming
and playing really
well,”
senior
forward
Will
Lockwood said. “But it’s nice to
see some of the leadership from
some older guys step in and you
know, get some credit on this.”
It was a crucial component
the team felt had been missing
all year.
After the onslaught of goals,
the seniors looked at each other
and said: “Hey, we kind of
called it.”
It was a big turnaround from
the
early
scoring
struggles
Michigan faced in the first half
of the year. But in the second
half the team — seniors in
particular — have come with a
vengeance.
Entering the season, there
were
certain
expectations
for the upperclassmen. Their
leadership role wasn’t meant
to be exclusively
vocal.
They
needed
to
demonstrate
it in their play
too. And while
they
seemingly
succeeded in the
former, the latter
was
a
glaring
issue. They just
couldn’t convert.
“I think it’s
good that we’re finally starting
to click and put up points,”
Pastujov said on the seniors. “...
It’s huge that once we started
clicking offensively, especially
just the way that Penn State
(and) Notre Dame played where
if we just keep rolling over on
them in their own zone, they
just can’t sustain the same way
that we can.”
It
was
a
dominant
performance
that led the way
to more than
just wins.
For
the
upperclassmen
to take charge,
pave
a
lead
and ultimately
win the game,
it showed the
younger players the template
for what the Wolverines are
capable of doing. Sometimes,
all it takes is seeing that it’s
possible before believing that
it can be done on a consistent
basis.
“I think with us to have that
hot start I think it did lead into
like, other guys because even the
second game, like Granowicz
was scoring, Beecher scoring,”
Pastujov said on seniors leading
by example. “Lot of these young
guys kind of get the confidence
that next game, where, ‘Yeah,
they are Penn State. Yeah, they
are sixth, but yeah, we can roll
over on them. We can also play
with them and kind of dominate
them.’
“So I think that’s what helped
us that second game, kind of
stay in the game and keep that
confidence up where no one was
ever really doubting whether
we’d come away with the win.”
It
was
senior
forward
Jake Slaker that opened the
floodgates with a snipe from a
left-side rush Friday. Pastujov
followed suit. And then the
younger players took charge —
much to the upperclassmen’s
relief.
The seniors aren’t necessarily
burdened by the stigma that
they should be scoring, but the
assumption can bear down on
them at times.
“Even
as
an
older guy, where
you kind of do
feel that weight,”
Lockwood
said. “And that
pressure of okay
we got to be the
ones that score.
Just having those
guys
score
is
huge. Seeing that
confidence that they get from
it.”
It’s lead by example, and
when the younger players do
find success, it’s just as exciting
for the seniors as it is to them.
For the upperclassmen, it was
only a couple years ago that
they were in those shoes.
“I
remember
when
I
was younger and I had my
upperclassmen who had my
back
through
tough
times
and then were
there
for
me
and
excited
for me when I
had
success,”
Lockwood said.
“And now I can
flip roles and
be the guy who
is
excited
for
another guy like
Granowicz.”
Added Slaker:
“Even thinking back to my
sophomore year, seeing (Cooper
Marody) and (Tony Calderone)
and
(Dexter
Dancs),
just
consistently producing, gave
you confidence that like, not
necessarily, even if I don’t score
they’ll score, but it’s like, ‘We
can do it you know like they’re
a team that we can be like, they
can be beat pretty much,’ and so
that’s huge to see as a young guy
like coming up.”
Marody,
Calderone
and
Dancs were the key players that
manufactured
a
late-season
run to the Frozen Four two
years ago. What once was a
showcase to the young Slaker,
Lockwood, Pastujov and other
then-underclassmen,
is
now
a blueprint they’re aiming to
follow.
In what has thus far been
a tumultuous season for the
Wolverines,
their
veteran
core stepping up to contribute
offense doesn’t only set an
example
for
the
younger
players, but it can potentially
set the stage for a second-half
run. And through four games,
that certainly seems to be the
case.
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Senior forward Nick Pastujov was part of a key conversation among Michigan’s seniors on the back of the bus from Harrisburg to State College last weekend.
Oh, all we need
is just kind of
start clicking on
offense.
Some of the
younger
guys are still
overperforming.
Even as an
older guy,
where you kind
of do feel that.