March 29, 2013
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Third sets proved costly for the No. 60 Purdue men's tennis team on Friday. The Michigan Wolverines won 5-2 after winning three three-set matches.
Michigan (8-7, 3-1 Big Ten) started the afternoon by taking the doubles point. The Wolverines picked up wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The No. 12 doubles team of Evan King and Shaun Bernstein made quick work of Diego Acosta and Aaron Dujovne as the Michigan pair won, 8-2. King is now the winningest player in Michigan history as he picked up his 181st combined win. At No. 3, Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu held on to beat Pawel Poziomski and Mark Kovacs by a score of 8-5.
King added to his program record with a win in singles. The No. 15 player in the country knocked of Szymon Tatarczyk at the top singles spot, 6-3, 6-2, to make the score 2-0. The Wolverines would claw within a point of victory after picking up a win at No. 5 in three sets. Alex Buzzi rallied back after being dominated in the first set by Krisztian Krocsko, 6-2, to win the final two sets, 6-2, 6-1.
Purdue (14-5, 1-2) got on the board with a straight-sets win at No. 4. Dujovne dominated Zhu from the first serve and won, 6-1, 6-3. Barrett Franks clinched the match for the Wolverines with a three-set win at No. 3. Acosta took the first set, 6-3, before Franks stole the energy and the next two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
Kovacs gave the Boilermakers another point with a win at No. 2. The junior held on in three sets to knock off Petrone, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The final match was at No. 6 and was close throughout. Mateus Silva took the first set, 7-5, by picking up the frame's only break in the final game. In the second set with the score 6-6, again without a break, Silva had two match points, but was unable to capitalize against Justin Rossi. Rossi took the set, 7-6 (6), to force a third set tiebreaker. There, Silva again took a lead and had two more match points. However, Rossi fought those off as well and won the match with an 11-9 win in the tiebreak.
The Boilermakers will be back in action on Sunday as the team hosts No. 51 Michigan State. The Boilermakers and Spartans are set for a noon ET first serve at the Schwartz Tennis Center. Weather and court conditions permitting, the match could be the first home outdoor event of the season for Purdue. Live scoring and a live blog will be available on PurdueSports.com.