Friday Tennis results
Buffalo 4, Western Michigan 3
Ball State 4, Toledo 3
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Buffalo 4, Western Michigan 3
KALAMAZOO, MI – The University at Buffalo men's tennis team (8-4, 1-0 MAC) made a statement as they went on the road and took down defending regular season champion Western Michigan 4-3 in their Mid-American Conference opener at the West Hills Athletic Club on Friday afternoon.
Buffalo started the match on a high note as they took the doubles point in a grueling battle that lasted over an hour. Sophomore
Michael Malkin and
Yu-Shiang Huang won 7-6(4) at first doubles and
Cheng Tang and
Daniils Snaiders followed with a tiebreak victory of their own, 7-6(5), at the second position to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead in the match.
Malkin continued his strong play in singles action as he picked up a 7-6, 6-4 victory at fifth singles to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead, but the hosts answered with wins at the second and fourth positions to go up 3-2. The final two matches went to a third set as junior
Faiz Nasyam won 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 at sixth singles and
Clement Mainguy, playing in his first MAC match, followed with a thriller of his own, saving six match points to win a third set tiebreaker set 12-10 and clinch the match with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 victory at third singles.
Up next, Buffalo will close out the weekend at Ball State on Sunday, March 9 at 11am.
Ball State 4, Toledo 3
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis team (8-4, 1-0 MAC) opened Mid-American Conference action with a 4-3 victory over Toledo (6-5, 0-1 MAC) Friday afternoon at the Ball State Tennis Facility.
It comes to no surprise that today's league opener would be highly competitive between the Cardinals and the Rockets.
All three doubles courts were tightly contested throughout the duration of doubles play.
Ian Brady and
Sajin Smith had the upper hand throughout their match. The duo defeated Toledo's No. 3 twosome of Hanamichi Carvajal and Joshua Mackey, 6-3. Shortly after, the No. 1 doubles tandem of
Jacks Lancaster and
Mason Tran fought their way back winning their match 6-4 over Lucas Britez and Poonthong Komolpisut. Lancaster and Tran's defeat clinched the doubles point for the Cardinals.
In singles, Toledo took the first point to knot the match 1-1. Lancaster gave BSU back the 2-1 advantage after beating Komolpisut, 7-5, 7-5 at the No. 2 slot. The Rockets answered quickly taking court No. 3 from the Cardinals to tie the score for a second time, 2-2.
With three courts remaining, all were in their third sets,
Petar Petrovic came back at No. 6 singles after being down in the third frame to take the set and the match, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) which gave BSU the 3-2 lead.
Toledo tied the score for the third and final time as Smith took a three-set thriller from Toledo's No. 4 player Lucas Britez to claim match point.
The Ball State men's tennis team continues league play Sunday when it hosts Buffalo at 11 am ET at the Ball State Tennis Facility.
