|
Wisconsin's Nolan Polley wins 2005 Big Ten Men's Tennis Singles Championship
Nov. 14, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
PARK RIDGE, IL - Wisconsin sophomore Nolan Polley captured the 2005 Big Ten Men's Tennis Singles Championship on Monday in East Lansing, Mich., with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory over 13th-seeded Dima Ishtuganov of Indiana. Polley, who entered the 64-player tournament unseeded, picked up six wins en route to the title in the 27th annual event. The title run improved Polley to 9-1 in tournament play this fall and included four wins over seeded opponents. Polley began his championship journey with a first-round victory over No. 7 seed Willy Lock of Northwestern, 6-4, 6-4. In second-round action, two sets were decided by tiebreakers before Polley fended off Purdue's Colin Foster, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4. Polley survived another tight match in the third round, ousting Iowa's Christian Bierich in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1). In quarterfinal play, he topped Michigan State's Nick Rinks, the third seed, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Polley downed the 15th seed in another close match, beating Indiana's Dara McLoughlin, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the semifinals. Additionally, Minnesota junior Nic Edlefsen claimed the consolation championship with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Penn State's Michael James. After beating No. 14-seeded Andrew Mazlin of Michigan in his opening match, Edlefsen lost a hard-fought three-setter to Purdue's Patrick Rose, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Moving into the consolation draw, Edlefsen responded with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Indiana's Peter Antons, and then followed it up with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 victory over another Hoosier, Michael McCarthy. Edlefsen edged Northwestern's second-seeded Christian Tempke in an exciting first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), before dominating the second, 6-2, for a quarterfinal victory. Edlefsen advance to the final match with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win against Penn State's Adam Slagter in semifinal action. The event, hosted by Michigan State University, consisted of a main draw, a consolation draw and a qualifying draw. The main draw was comprised of 56 student-athletes from 10 of the conference men's tennis teams, while 20 student-athletes competed in the qualifying draw. The players in both the main and qualifying draws were seeded for the bracket by the Big Ten coaches.
|
|
