University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Holding Student Night at Baseline
4/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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The University of Minnesota Gophers face a top-25 team for the third straight match in No. 21 Michigan and host Michigan State this weekend.
The Gophers host Michigan for Student Night on Friday at 6 p.m. with the first 50 students getting free Buffalo Wild Wings. The first 100 students will receive free @GopherSports t-shirts. The Spartans come to town with a 12:00 p.m. start time on Sunday.
The Maroon and Gold are tough to beat at home and have picked up five of their six wins at the Baseline Tennis Center this season. They went undefeated there a season ago.
The Lineup
Matic Spec has competed in 16 matches in the No. 1 spot going 8-8 and has a 12-10 record on the year. He has picked up big wins against ranked teams in No. 40 Dartmouth, No. 45 Washington and No. 56 Iowa.
Ruben Weber leads the team with a 16-9 overall record. He has completed13 matches at the No. 2 spot going 8-5 there. He is an impressive 5-3 in his last ten times out with two matches going unfinished in that stretch and is 2-1 in B1G play.
Felix Corwin has played at least one match at spots 1-5 this season. He is 10-11 overall this year. He started the fall ranked and went 5-2 but has been hampered by an injury this spring.
Freshmen Justyn Levin and Josip Krstanovic have both played in the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots. Levin has a 10-13 overall singles record this season. Krstanovic joined the team for the spring season, holding a record of 5-11.
Another freshman in Marino Alpeza has gotten matches in at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots and is 11-14 this season. Jeremy Lynn has grabbed three wins at the No. 6 spot this season as well.
Doubles
Weber and Alpeza has played 14 matches together at the No. 1 spot and 18 overall. They are 8-10 together.
Lynn and Spec have played nine matches together at No. 2 and two at No. 3 holding a 7-5 record together this season, all in dual match play. They won in their last completed match.
Krstanovic is 7-5 this season in doubles play holding a 6-4 record with Levin and is 1-1 with Corwin.
The Lifelong Connection
Associate head coach Urban Ljubic is the longest tenured assistant/associate in the Big Ten. He strives to keep a connection with the players far longer than just the four years they play at Minnesota.
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About Michigan
No. 20 ranked Michigan is 15-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play after defeating Indiana and Purdue over the weekend. The Wolverines are undefeated at home (12-0) and 1-4 on the road. Michigan has been in the top 25 for the last five rankings releases.
Michigan holds a ranked doubles pair in No. 39 Alex Knight and Runhoa Hua, who are 8-4 on the season. The Wolverines also have ranked players in its singles lineup. No. 75 Jathan Malik and No. 107 Alex Knight, with 7-8 and 13-5 records, consecutively.
About Michigan State
Michigan State is 10-12 overall and 0-5 in conference play after falling to Purdue and Indiana last weekend. The Spartans are on a six-game loss streak, with its last win against University of Illinois-Chicago in February.
Mac Roy (9-15) and Michael Dube (15-12) lead the team at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. The two also often pair at No. 1 doubles, with an 8-7 record there this season.
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Players Mentioned
