University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Wisconsin
Gophers Extend Streak in Big Ten Opener
2/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MADISON, Wis. - The No. 33-ranked Minnesota men's tennis team continued its winning ways with a 4-1 victory over Border Battle rival Wisconsin at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis. Saturday. The win, which came in their Big Ten opening match, was the Gophers' fifth in a row.
Minnesota is off to its best start since 2011 at 7-1 and is now 1-0 in conference play. The Gophers also padded their edge in their all-time series against the Badgers--it now stands at 60-48.
For the eighth-consecutive match to start the season, the Maroon and Gold took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles competition.
Eric Frueh and Matic Spec gave the Gophers an edge by eking out a 7-6 (3) at No. 3. No. 58-ranked Leandro Toledo and Felix Corwin clinched the competition with a 7-5 win at the second spot. Frueh and Spec improved to 8-2, while Toledo and Corwin upped their record to 7-1.
Combined, Gopher doubles tandems are 16-1 this spring.
Wisconsin got on the board first in singles to tie the match when Lamar Remy defeated Jack Hamburg in straight sets. The Gophers then used their three ranked singles players to pick up the win.
No. 17-ranked Toledo pushed his record at No. 1 singles to 6-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Alexander Kokorev. No. 107-ranked freshman Spec then moved to 7-0 in the spring with a two-set triumph at No. 4. Elm Grove, Wis. native and 117-ranked Corwin secured the team win by taking a tightly contested 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) decision against Josef Dodridge.
Freshmen Spec and Corwin are now a combined 32-5 in singles--including a 12-1 mark in the spring--with a 22-7 doubles record.
After a week with no matches, the Gophers pick up play Feb. 20 against No. 23 Vanderbilt in Cambridge, Mass. They play at 30th-ranked Harvard the following day.
No. 33 Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 1
Nielsen Tennis Stadium (Madison, Wis.)
Singles competition
1. No. 17 Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. Alexander Kokorev (WISC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Lamar Remy (WISC) def. Jack Hamburg (MINN) 6-3, 6-3
3. Jakhongir Jalalov (WISC) vs. Ruben Weber (MINN) 7-5, 4-6, 1-3, unfinished
4. No. 107 Matic Spec (MINN) def. Darius Mackenzie (WISC) 6-3, 6-4
5. No. 117 Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Josef Dodridge (WISC) 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2)
6. Tomas Pitra (WISC) vs. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 6-0, 6-7 (5), 1-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Alexander Kokorev/Jakhongir Jalalov (WISC) vs. Mathieu Froment/Jack Hamburg (MINN) 6-6 (3-3), unfinished
2. No. 58 Leandro Toledo/Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Josef Dodridge/Jose Carranza (WISC) 7-5
3. Eric Frueh/Matic Spec (MINN) def. Lamar Remy/Darius Mackenzie (WISC) 7-6 (3)
Match Notes
Minnesota 7-1
Wisconsin 1-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,1,4,5)
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Players Mentioned
