Michigan men's tennis falls to Ohio State in regional final

Despite winning the doubles point and claiming an early 1-0 advantage, Michigan squandered the lead during the singles portion of the match as its season came to an end in Champaign, Illinois with a 2-4 loss to Ohio State.

Michigan started off the evening in triumphant fashion, as Patrick Maloney and Nick Beaty led the way with an early doubles victory. The Wolverines rallied to win two of the three doubles matches, and they claimed the early lead.

However, things didn't go as smoothly for Michigan in the singles portion of the match. Andrew Fenty dropped his singles match, 2-6, 2-6. Nino Ehrenschneider also dropped his singles match, 2-6, 3-6, and Ondrej Styler dropped his match, 4-6, 4-6.

Ohio State made a fierce comeback and was quickly within one singles point of winning the overall match. Patrick Maloney did an excellent job of extending the match with a 7-5 second-set victory over Ohio State's Matej Vocel, but Beaty was retired in straight sets to end Michigan's season.

The Buckeyes won, 4-2, and will advance to the Final Four to face eighth-seeded Kentucky. Michigan, meanwhile, will head back to Ann Arbor as its season comes to an end.

Despite the heartbreaking loss to the rival Buckeyes, Michigan still achieved greatness this season. The team won its first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship, after having finished runner-up three times since the tournament's inauguration in 1999. The Wolverines also advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988.

All in all, it was a memorable season for Michigan, and although losing to a rival is difficult, the team should have nothing to hang its head about.