ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Toledo men's tennis team's magical season came to an end with a 4-0 loss to No. 7 Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship at the University of Michigan Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Toledo (18-6), the regular season and MAC Tournament Champion, ended its season with its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its best record since winning 19 matches in the 2012-13 season.
"I'm super proud of this group and our seniors and leaders for such a fun and inspiring year," head coach
Al Wermer said. "The MAC season, the tournament championship – no one can ever take that away from us. We were not present in doubles today, but they guys played better in singles and got more settled as they persisted. It was a good experience, and we'll all gain from it."
Michigan, the No. 7 seeded team in the tournament, took a 1-0 lead into singles play after winning the doubles point thanks to victories at the No. 3 and No. 2 courts.
Michigan's Jacob Bickersteth took the first singles match in two sets from the No. 5 court. No. 20-ranked Andrew Fenty made it 3-0 in the match with his two-set victory from the No. 3 court. The Wolverines clinched the match to advance to Round 2 with No. 44-ranked Patrick Maloney's 6-2, 6-2 win from the No. 2 court.
Luis Kleinschnitz was the lone Rocket to win a set from the No. 6 court, winning the first set 6-2.
No. 1 singles player
Pawit Sornlaksup lost his first set and trailed in his second set when his court was ruled unfinished against No. 8 ranked Ondrej Styler to preserve his singles winning streak at 43-straight matches.
Michigan will advance to Round 2 and face Cal. (13-10) tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for a chance to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Bears advanced to the second round after defeating LSU (14-11) 4-1 on in the day's first match on Saturday.
NCAA Tournament First Round
Ann Arbor, Mich. | Varsity Tennis Courts
Saturday, May 6
No.7 Michigan 4, Toledo 0
Doubles
1.
Pawit Sornlaksup/ Krzyszof Wetoszka (TOL) 1-5 unfinished
2. Maloney/Ehrenschneider (UM) 6-1
3. Styler/Bickersteth (UM) 6-0
Singles
1.
Pawit Sornlaksup (Toledo) 1-6, 3-5 unfinished
2. No. 44 Patrick Maloney (UM) 6-2, 6-2
3. No. 20 Andrew Fenty (UM) 6-0, 6-3
4.
Marko Galic (TOL) 2-6, 5-2 unfinished
5. Jacob Bickersteth (UM) 6-1, 6-1
6.
Luis Kleinschnitz (TOL) 6-2, 2-5 unfinished
Order of Completion:Â Doubles 3-2, Singles 5-3-2