brooke bolender

Michigan played well in the 2012 Big Ten Tournament. No championships were won, but good games were played, rough country justice was meted out, and more than a few hearts were broken in Evanston when Evan King stepped back on the team bus for the drive back to Ann Arbor.

MMT and MWT entered the Big Ten tournament as 2 seeds, thus earning first-round byes. Two minute opera overture. Curtain.

MMT

April 27, 2012: #22 Michigan 4, MSU 1: Advance to B10 Semifinals, 17-6 overall

*Game abandoned

Good, good. Add another victory over MSU to the vault. Bernstein still cannot serve overhanded, and putting Brown back in the singles lineup is to be considered if Bernstein is not 100% by the beginning of the NCAAs. Beating MSU in doubles is a step in the right direction but it is not enough to win the B10. Other than some minor gloating I have little to say about this game. MSU court 1 Aaron Pfister offered much stiffer resistance to King this time around but still dropped the first set to the King. Petrone is looking like the designated 2 court for the forseeable future. Zhu will battle with Bernstein for 3 court next year if he can get over his streakiness.

April 28, 2012: #22 Michigan 0, #24 Illinois 4: B10 Tournament Over, 17-7 overall

Darn it all. On the bright side Illinois beat Ohio 4-3 in the final on April 29^th, which was Ohio's first loss in the B10 tournament final after a six-year winning streak, five of those wins also coming against the Illini.

MWT

April 27, 2012: #15 Michigan 4, Indiana 2: Advance to B10 Semifinals, 18-6 overall

#12 Brooke Bolender avenged a season loss on 2 court, and #85 Emina Betkas delivered the goods on 1 court. Also, this match and the next two were played in Columbus. Which makes them extra awesome.

April 28, 2012: #15 Michigan 4, #20 Illinois 0: Advance to B10 Finals, 19-6 overall

Unfortunately, Michigan lost to Purdue 4-3 in the B10 final on April 29, 2012, with a 19-7 overall record.

It was close, very close. Michigan could have won the regular season and the tournament, but it was not meant to be this year.

Curtain.

MWT* won convincingly 5-2 at home this past Sunday, earning their third consecutive Big Ten title. The victory was Michigan's eleventh consecutive victory over their rivals from Ohio.

*Michigan Women's Tennis

Terrific stuff! 3 for 3 in doubles will put fear into any opponent. Brief highlights, and a DB statement. There is also a Gatorade bath. I won't pick on Ohio too hard, as they have a 9-15 record this year. #13 Emina Betkas is only a freshman and she will play another three years hopefully for us. The team only graduates senior and 5 court Michelle Sulahian. Junior 4 court Mimi Nguyen is the only other upperclassman on the roster. I can see this group of players competing for another Big Ten title next year. The immediate challenge is winning the Big Ten Tournament this weekend, and competing for a national title in the NCAAs.

Sadly, not all of our tennis matches fare as well as this one. Michigan men's tennis(MMT) played at Ohio's Varsity Tennis Courts last Sunday, and like many other teams before them, did not beat the Bobcats at home. Junior #8 Evan King defeated #6 Blas Rola convincingly on 1 court, but the rest of the match was all Bobcats.

My eyes. Also, my thermoregulator. Some silly person in Ohio decided that this match should be held outdoors in 45-degree weather with high winds. Per NCAA rules, April matches are only required to be played outdoors when the temperature is above 65 degrees. Some players wore undershirts to keep warm. Our young freshman were apple-cheeked in the cold. The wind was fast up in the bleachers and made it even colder.

The numbers do not tell the true story of how long some points were contested, especially in doubles. Petrone and Bernstein were two players in particular who, on serve, earned multiple deuces in a long back-and-forth with their opponents. Unfortunately only one team was earning consistent breaks in singles and in doubles, and they were not the Wolverines. Regardless, Ohio's 2 court #12 Chase Buchanan is a senior and will graduate. The Wolverines may be in a position to win the conference if everyone improves, King comes back, and Bernstein gets his serve back up to speed. Bernstein used his underhanded serve in doubles, but mostly would forehand the ball into play in singles. His serving was about as effective as other Michigan players' serves. Alex Buzzi lost his cool after dropping the first doubles match and seemed dejected afterwards. Brown substituted for Buzzi on 6 court.

Ohio's players were big, strong, and aggressive with their shots. Many times they hit the ball harder and closer to the top of the net than the Michigan players and obtained the advantage of force in that manner. There were also big servers playing for the Bobcats, especially on 3 and 4 court.

It cannot be overstated how many breaks the Wolverines allowed in this match. Many times Blue managed to break back but the numbers were heavily in Ohio's favor.

Michigan has earned a 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament, and earned its most conference wins(9) since 1999. Michigan's last Big Ten title was earned in 1996.