Bobby Bayliss loves to play spoiler. On Tuesday in Ann Arbor, the head coach of the men's tennis team got to do just that.His team improved to 11-7 in the dual-match season, handing the Michigan Wolverines just their second loss and ending a ten-match home win streak."We had lost to them twice in a row at Michigan, so it meant a lot to beat them," Bayliss said. The Irish faltered in their recent strength, losing the doubles point to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. "It was a very determined match on our part," Bayliss said. "We were unfortunate not to win the doubles point, it came down to a tiebreaker. They had a backhand return serve up the line for a winner to give them match point."Michael Rubin, the No. 44-ranked singles player, did not play for Michigan; however, his absence did not provide the expected advantage."I knew we were in for a tough Bayliss did not learn until after the match that top Irish players Luis Haddock, Matthew Scott and Ryan Keckley were all suffering from illness, with Haddock and Scott forced to take injury time-outs during their matches. "It showed me a lot," said Bayliss of the team's performance. "I was really impressed by the determination and the grit that I saw today."Haddock clinched the match at No. 1 for the Irish, winning 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. "[Brent] D'Amico was down 4-2 and came back to win 7-5, 6-4," said Bayliss. D'Amico, the first singles match off the courts, put the Irish on the board and tied the score 1-1. His opponent, Ryan Heller, was previously undefeated in dual-match play.
