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No. 4 Michigan downs Indiana for semifinal berth
MINNEAPOLIS - After closing out the regular season with a hard-fought battle against fifth-seeded Indiana, Michigan proved its talent was semifinal-ready, claiming another gritty win in the 2006 Big Ten Championship quarterfinals. The fourth-seeded Wolverines prevailed 4-2, sealing a semifinal meeting with regular season champion Ohio State. After dropping the first set 7-5, Michigan's Bryan Hung regrouped and fought his way to a three-set win in No. 3 singles to clinch the match for the Wolverines. Hung defeated IU's Dara McLoughlin 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to improve to 5-6 in Big Ten play. After the nation's 10th-ranked doubles team of Matko Maravic and Brian Hung kicked things off with an 8-6 win over IU's Dmytro Ishtuganov and McLoughlin in No. 1 doubles, the Wolrerines took a 1-0 lead. Indiana leveled the match with a victory in No. 4 singles. Senior Neil Kenner took out Andrew Mazlin 6-4, 6-3 to improve 8-2 against conference opponents. Fellow Hoosier David Bubenicek gave IU a 2-1 lead with his straight-set triumph over Ryan Heller in the second singles match. The 6-3, 6-4 win improved Heller's Big Ten record to 7-4. The Wolverines, who edged Indiana 4-3 in the teams' regular season meeting, fought back with two crucial, three-set singles wins from No. 39 Maravic and Hung. A unanimous All-Big Ten team selection, Maravic defeated IU's 109th-ranked Dima Ishtuganov 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. The Wolverines bettered their record to 13-10 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten. They meet Ohio State in Saturday's quarterfinal round at 10 a.m. in a rematch of last year's semifinal. Results Doubles Michigan (4) def. Indiana (5), 4-2
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