Michigan pushes past Louisville and returns to Varsity Tennis Center

Property: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, Louisville 3
Records: UM (17-2), UL (12-9)
Next UM event: Friday, April 7 – v. Penn State (Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan’s No. 5 men’s tennis team beat Louisville 4-3 on Sunday (April 2) in the team’s first game at the Varsity Tennis Center in more than a month.

Trailing 0-1 after the double, Michigan won four of six first sets in singles but suddenly ran into trouble when three games were pushed into the decider.

Nino Ehrenschneider put the Wolverines on the board with his first match and first win in singles No. 4, defeating Sergio Hernandez 6-1, 7-6 (4). After a quick first set, Ehrenschneider fell behind in the second but was never more than a game behind. They traded games at 6-6 before the tiebreak. Ehrenschneider grabbed a 3-1 lead but Hernandez fought back to make it 3-3. The tide turned again as Ehrenschneider won four of the next five points to take the tiebreak 7-4.

No. 10 rank Andrew Fenty took Michigan 2-1 up with their fifth straight singles decision. With a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over No. 76 Natan Rodrigues, Fenty improves his career to 26-7 when he meets a high-ranked opponent.

Jacob Bickersteth rebounded after losing his opening set 6-3 at No. 5 in singles to earn matching 6-1 victories over Matthew Fung – his third consecutive singles win – as he put Michigan 3-1 ahead .

No. 31 Etienne Donnet handed over No. 23 Patrick Maloney his first loss of the season in a three-set match at No. 2 in singles. Maloney won the first set 6-3 but Donnet took a 4-0 lead in the second set to win 6-1. The third tied 3-3 before Donnet won the last three games to go 6-3 in the final. It was Maloney’s first singles loss since April 29, 2022.

No. 55 Fabian Salle made things interesting as he pushed the Cardinals inside with 7-6(4), 7-6(7) decisions over No. 40 3-2 Gavin Young.

With all eyes on number 6, Will Cooksey delivered in the third set after 6:1 sets against Andre Steinbach. Cooksey grabbed a 3-1 lead and won the final set 6-4 for his fifth straight win.

The Wolverines started the match trailing 1-0 after Louisville captured the colon. It was only the sixth time UM has lost the colon this season and the fourth time it has rallied for a team win.

Fenty and Young, 8th in doubles, clinched a 6-3 match against Donnet and Alex Wesbrooks. Although the duo was never behind in the match, they sat 3-3 before winning three straight games with two break points.

Maloney and Ehrenschneider suffered their first loss as a pair, losing a 6-4 second-place match to Salle and Fung. The Cards bounced back from a 4-3 deficit and won the three in a row to win the match and exit it in 3rd place on doubles.

Cooksey and Bjorn Swenson took a 2-1 lead but lost the next three games and fell 4-2 down. The pair won the next game, but the Cards won the last two to take the match 6-3 and the colon.

Michigan continues its home grandstand with three games this coming Friday and Sunday (April 7-9) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines will face Penn State on Friday (April 7) at 4 p.m. and Ohio State on Sunday (April 9) at 12 p.m.

Match-by-match results follow

singles
#1 – #10 Andrew Fenty (UM) d. No.76 Natan Rodrigues (UL), 6-1, 7-6 (5)
No. 2 – No. 31 Etienne Donnet (UL)d. #23 Patrick Maloney (UM), 6-3, 1-6, 3-6
#3 – #3 55 Fabian Salle (UL) d. #40 Gavin Young (UM), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7)
number 4 – Nino Ehrenschneider (UM) d. Sergio Hernandez (UL), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
#5 – Jacob Bickersteth (UM) d. Matthew Fung (UL), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
#6 – #117 Will Cooksey (UM) d. Andre Steinbach (UL), 6-1, 1-6, 6-4

double

#1 – #8 Andrew Fenty/Gavin Young (UM) d. Donnet/Alex Wesbrooks (UL), 6-3
#2 – Fabian Salle/Matthew Fung (UL) d. Patrick Maloney/Nino Ehrenschneider (UM), 6-4
No. 3 – Natan Rodrigues/Sergio Hernandez (UL) d. Will Cooksey/Bjorn Swenson (UM), 6-3

Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 4-1-5-2-3-6