Wolverines Top No. 6 USC for 10th Straight Victory

Wolverines Top No. 6 USC for 10th Straight Victory

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)

Score: #4 Michigan 4, #6 USC 1

Records: U-M (10-0), USC (6-1)

Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 17 — vs. TBA – ITA National Indoor Championship (Chicago, Ill.), Time TBA

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men’s tennis team captured its 10th straight win and handed No. 6 University of Southern California its first loss of the season in a battle of top 10 teams at the Varsity Tennis Center on Monday (Feb. 13).

The Wolverines are off to their best start since 1980, with Monday’s victory marking just the second win over USC in program history.

“This was one of the best wins this program has had in a long time,” head coach Adam Steinberg said. “To beat USC… When I got this job [in 2014], that was so far away. It’s a dream come true to see where this program is now.”

Michigan switched its No. 1 and 2 pairs for doubles and the move paid off. No. 6 ranked Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young took a 6-2 match at No. 2 over Peter Maak and Lodewijk Weststrate. Tied up at 2-2, the pair won the last four games to take the match. Will Cooksey and Jacob Bickersteth clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Wotjek Marek and Samuel Rubell. Patrick Maloney and Ondrej Styler had the 5-4 advantage over No. 12 Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye before the match was halted.

Michigan (10-0) has now won the doubles point in nine of 10 matches this season.

Bickersteth claimed the Wolverines’ first singles win as he locked up No. 5 with 6-3, 6-2 victories over No. 82-ranked Ryan Colby. It marked Bickersteth’s second-straight win as he improved to 5-1 in dual play.

Weststrate put the Trojans on the scoreboard, topping Bjorn Swenson 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6, in what would be the only win for USC (6-1) as Michigan claimed the next two singles matches.

No. 36 ranked Young stayed undefeated and improved to 6-0 in dual play with a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 118-ranked Frye.

Maloney, ranked No. 42, fell behind 0-2 to Marek in his opening set but battled back to win four of the next five games and take a 4-3 lead. Tied up at 6-6 and in the tiebreak, Marek quickly took a 3-0 lead but Maloney was unfazed and rattled off seven straight points…