University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Gophers Defeat Hoosiers to Open B1G Tournament
4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Big Ten Tournament Central | Tournament Bracket
West Lafayette, Ind. -The No. 38-ranked University of Minnesota men's tennis team earned a 4-2 victory over Indiana in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. In a rematch of the regular season finale last Sunday, the Gophers took down the Hoosiers once again to advance to the quarterfinals.
Doubles
The morning started with doubles play at the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center, home to the Purdue Boilermakers. Eli Ogilvy and Stefan Milicevic picked up a 6-2 victory at No. 3 doubles as they defeated Bennett Crane and Zac Brodney of Indiana.
The Hoosiers bounced back and picked up a win at No. 1 doubles as No. 79 Raheel Manji and Keivon Tabrizi took down Matic Spec and Felix Corwin 6-2. Not long after, is was Josip Krstanovic and Justyn Levin who earned the clinching point for Minnesota as they defeated Antonio Cembellin and Stefan Lugonjic 6-3. Unlike last Sunday's match, the Maroon & Gold started the day winning the doubles point and was able to carry that momentum in the singles matches.
Singles
The first singles match to finish was at No. 4 singles, where Ogilvy fell to Tabrizi by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Minnesota bounced back and picked up a win at No. 5 singles as Krstanovic defeated Crane 6-2, 6-3 in his first match since April 16 at Penn State.
The Gophers went up 3-1 when Milicevic beat Matthew McCoy 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles. The final three matches of the day would all go to three sets to make for an exciting finish in the first match in the Big Ten Tournament.
After bouncing back in the second set for a 6-4 victory, Corwin would drop his third set to Manji and fall at No. 1 singles by a final score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. The junior was on the wrong end of Thursday morning's battle after a thrilling three-set comeback victory last Sunday over Manji.
Marino Alpeza and No. 70 Spec were each in back-and-forth battles with multiple lead changes in the third set. It would be Alpeza to prevail and earn the clinching point for the Gophers, as he broke Oliver Sec's serve late to earn a 7-5 victory in the third set. His final score at No. 6 singles ended at 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-5.
Spec's third set went to a tiebreaker, and he led 3-2 when the Gophers clinched the match victory. His unfinished match ended at 6-4, 3-6, 6-6 (3-2) against Cembellin. Coach Geoff Young knew today's match would be close, and gave credit to Indiana for battling back late.
"It was a battle, and it was super close all the way to the end. I expected it to be kind of close and it was," Young commented. "Indiana did a really good job, the match started to get away from them a bit late in the second sets, and they came back and battled."
Up Next
The Gophers advance to the quarterfinals with today's win, and will battle Ohio State tomorrow at 8 a.m. central time. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA National Tennis Rankings and have players ranked in both singles and doubles. In the last match against the Big Ten Champions, Minnesota fell 6-1 as Corwin was the only player to pick up a victory.
You can follow all of the postseason action on the Gophers' Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
#38 Minnesota 4, Indiana 2
Apr. 27, 2017 at West Lafayette, Ind. (Schwartz Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Raheel Manji (IU) def. Felix Corwin 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
2. #70 Matic Spec (MINN) vs. Antonio Cambellin (IU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-6 (3-2)
3. Stefan Milicevic (MINN) def. Matthew McCoy (IU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Keivon Tabrizi (IU) def. Eli Ogilvy (MINN) 6-2, 6-1
5. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Bennett Crane (IU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. Oliver Sec (IU) 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #79 Keivon Tabrizi/Raheel Manji (IU) def. Matic Spec/Felix Corwin (MINN) 6-2
2. Josip Krstanovic/Justyn Levin (MINN) def Stefan Lugonjic/Antonio Cambellin (IU) 6-3
3. Eli Ogilvy/Stefan Milicevic (MINN) def. Bennett Crane/Zac Brodney (IU) 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,5,3,1,6)
Match played indoors on the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center
T-2:52
Players Mentioned
