Buffalo Earns Top Seed In MAC Men's Tennis Tournament
Here is a look at the seeding for this week's MAC Men's Tennis Tournament. Also, take a look at MAC Men's Tennis action from this weekend. Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments.
1. Buffalo
2. Northern Illinois
3. Western Michigan
4. Ball State
5. Toledo
6. Chicago state
Ball State:
Men's Tennis Wins 4-3 Thriller Over Buffalo Saturday
MUNCIE, Ind. - After capturing the doubles point, and claiming three singles victories, the Ball State men's tennis team won a 4-3 thriller over undefeated Buffalo Saturday at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.
With the win the Cardinals improved to 17-9 on the season and 3-2 in Mid-American Conference action. Ball State's win over the Bulls handed Buffalo (9-9, 4-1 MAC) its first league loss of the season. Before the match Ball State also paid tribute to its seniors Zane Smith, Andres Monroy and Derek Carpenter.
The Cardinals headed into singles action up 1-0 after winning the doubles point. The Ball State duo of Patrick Elliott and Andres Monroy defeated Jason Shkodnik and Alex Kalinin, 8-3 finishing first on court three. The Cardinals would then lose at No. 2 doubles but Dalton Albertin paired up with Ray Leonard to beat Damien David and Vusa Hove 8-5 at No. 1 doubles which claimed the point.
In singles action, Ball State dropped two matches on courts two and three which gave Buffalo the 2-1 edge over the Cardinals. Austin Smith knotted the match at 2-2 after his 6-4, 6-3 win against Buffalo's Ivan Vereshchaga at No. 4 singles. Patrick Elliot won on court five which gave Ball State the 3-2 lead. After Leonard lost at the No. 1 slot, Alexandre Brym earned the match with his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Travis Zappia.
The Ball State men's tennis team will travel to Toledo Thursday, April 26 to defend its 2011 Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship. Details about the tournament will soon be announced by the league office.
Ball State 4, Buffalo 3
Doubles
No. 1 Ray Leonard/Dalton Albertin def. Damien David/Vusa Hove 8-5
No. 2 Derek Carpenter/Zane Smith lost to Wojciech Starakiewicz/Travis Zappia, 8-5
No. 3 Patrick Elliott/Andres Monroy def. Alex Kalinin/Jason Shkodnik, 8-3
Singles
No. 1 Ray Leonard loses to Damien David, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
No. 2 Dalton Albertin loses to Vusa Hove, 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 Zane Smith loses to Wojciech Starakiewicz, 6-0, 6-3
No. 4 Austin Smith def. Ivan Vereshchaga, 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 Patrick Elliott def. Alex Kalinin, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 Alexandre Brym def. Travis Zappia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Order of Finish Doubles, 3, 1, 2
Order of Finish Singles 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6
Buffalo:
Men’s Tennis Concludes MAC Slate With 4-3 Loss at Ball State
MUNCIE, IN – The University at Buffalo men’s tennis team began its two-match weekend swing in Muncie, IN with a 4-3 loss to homestanding Ball State at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center on Saturday. The Bulls (9-9, 4-1 MAC) claimed a share of the league’s regular season crown with Northern Illinois as both teams received first-round byes to next week’s tournament.
The Bulls took the top three singles matches for their points on Saturday. In the number one match, freshman Damien David won his 25th match and completed an undefeated season against conference foes with his three-set, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Ray Leonard. At numbers two and three, Vusa Hove and Wojciech Starakiewicz picked up victories in straight sets. Hove knocked off Dalton Albertin, 6-0, 6-4, for his 10th win in a row and 20th this season, in the number two contest. Hove also finished 5-0 against MAC competition. Starakiewicz defeated Zane Smith, 6-0, 6-4 in the number three match.
The Bulls also scored a doubles victory from the number two tandem of Starakiewicz and Travis Zappia as they downed Derek Carpenter and Zane Smith, 8-6.
“I hope that this match is a wake up call for our team,” said UB head coach Lee Nickell. “Ball State was better than us today, and as I have said before there are five teams in this conference that can win this thing. We need a change in mindset going into tomorrow and next week if we plan on doing something this program has never done before.”
UB faces IUPUI tomorrow at 10:00 am in Muncie. The Bulls will play their first match of the MAC Championships in Toledo, OH on Friday, April 27 against an opponent to be determined.
Ball State 4, Buffalo 3
Doubles
1 Ray Leonard/Dalton Albertin (BSU) d. Vusa Hove/Damien David (UB), 8-5
2 Wojciech Starakiewicz/Travis Zappia (UB) d. Derek Carpenter/Zane Smith (BSU), 8-6
3 Patrick Elliot/Andres Monroy (BSU) d. Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik/Alex Kalinin (UB), 8-4 Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1 Damien David (UB) d. Ray Leonard (BSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2 Vusa Hove (UB) d. Dalton Albertin (BSU), 6-0, 6-4
3 Wojciech Starakiewicz (UB) d. Zane Smith (BSU), 6-0, 6-4
4 Austin Smith (BSU) d. Ivan Vereshchaga (UB), 6-4, 6-3
5 Patrick Elliott (BSU) d. Alex Kalinin (UB), 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
6 Alexandre Brym (BSU) d. Travis Zappia (UB), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6
Northern Illinois:
Huskies Crowned MAC Co-Regular Season Champions
DeKALB, Ill. - Following its win over Chicago State Friday morning and Buffalo's loss to Ball State Saturday, the Northern Illinois men's tennis team claimed a piece of the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship, the first ever in program history.
"To win a championship is a great accomplishment for our kids, NIU and our tennis program,” said Head Coach Patrick Fisher. “To do what we have done with this program in three years and to think what is happening to our program now, is only the first part of what I envisioned when I took over three years ago. To see it take form after all the hard work is awesome.”
The Huskies finished the season with a 21-6 overall record and a MAC register of 4-1, the first 20 win season by Northern Illinois since 1989 and the fewest losses since 2004. NIU's lone loss in conference play occurred April 15 when it hosted Buffalo, dropping the contest 5-2.
Northern Illinois’ chase for the MAC crown began March 23 when it defeated Western Michigan in Kalamazoo by a 5-2 score and followed up with a 5-2 triumph over Ball State on April 7, marking the first time since 1974 that the Huskies defeated both perennial powerhouse MAC teams in the same season.
As a program, the Huskies are not strangers to success as they have claimed six conference championships in their history, three in the Mid Continent Conference and three in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
During that period of time, 1991-97, NIU won three player of the year awards, four coach of the year honors and had one nationally ranked player in Sunu Thomas, ranked as high as No. 77 in 1995. That same season, the Huskies were the runner-up in the Midwestern Conference, falling to Notre Dame in the championship match.
Fisher also added “Our goal now is to win another championship when we head to the MAC Tournament and this year’s tournament is going to be one of the most exciting in quite some time, because there are multiple teams that are capable of winning the title this year.”
The Huskies will begin the Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday April 27, earning a first round bye, and will face either Ball State or Chicago State in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Central. The tournament will be hosted by Toledo.
Huskies Surpass 20-win Plateau With Pair of Wins
CHICAGO, Ill. – The Northern Illinois men’s tennis team surpassed the 20 win plateau for the first time since 1989 this afternoon with wins over Chicago State, 7-0, and Illinois-Chicago, 5-0. The Huskies close the regular season with a regular season record of 21-6 and MAC record of 4-1.
“Today we did exactly what we should have done - take care of our business and prepare for the MAC Championship,” said Head Coach Patrick Fisher. “it was great for the guy's to win their 20th and 21st game today this is a great accomplishment for our kids, NIU and our program. To think where this program was three years ago when Javier and I took it over, to where it is now it’s just a great thing to know that we are a winning program now.”
The Huskies made a clean sweep of the Cougars and won all nine of their matches on the day, winning all of their singles matches in straight sets. Four different NIU players recorded perfect sets and did not surrender a point to their CSU counterpart in the frame.
NIU had similar results against UIC, claiming all singles matches but No. 1 and No. 3 which were called due to the weather. The Huskies claimed the doubles point, claiming victories at Nos. 2 and 3 with scores of 6-1 (Maksym Bartiuk and Roman Turtygin) and 8-6 (Maximilian Phiilips and Frederic Cadieux). Dor Amir dominated at No.2 singles, when he defeated Alan Reifer and did not surrender a single point, 6-0, 6-0.
The Huskies finish the season 21-6 overall and 4-1 in conference and will earn a first round bye to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, beginning April 26 at Toledo.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 7, CHICAGO STATE 0
Chicago, Ill.
Doubles:
1. Amir/Lagerlof (NIU) def. Noboa/Muresan (CSU) 8-5
2. Bartiuk/Turtygin (NIU) def. Yeremia/Chavez (CSU) 8-1
3. Cadieux/Phillips (NIU) def. McKinney/Ulloa (CSU) 8-0
Singles:
1. Roman Turtygin (NIU) def. Sergiu Muresan (CSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Axel Lagerlof (NIU) def. Mario Noboa (CSU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Maksym Bartiuk (NIU) def. Julian Chavez (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Frederic Cadieux (NIU) def. Rashley Yeremia (CSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Maximilian Phillips (NIU) def. Luis Ulloa (CSU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Maksym Lagutin (NIU) def. Sam McKinney (CSU) 6-0, 6-0
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 5, UIC 0
Chicago, Ill.
Doubles:
1. Kamath/Raa (UIC) def. Amir/Lagerlof (NIU) 8-4
2. Bartiuk/Turtygin (NIU) def. Feoli/Reifer (UIC) 6-1 ret inj
3. Phillips/Cadieux (NIU) def. Shepardson/Kirk (UIC) 8-6
Singles:
1. James Li (UIC) vs. Roman Turtygin (NIU) 6-4, 2-3 unfinished
2. Dor Amir (NIU) def. Alan Reifer (UIC) 6-0, 6-0
3. Alexander Raa (UIC) vs. Axel Lagerlof (NIU) 5-7, 5-2 unfinished
4. Maksym Bartiuk (NIU) def. Rahul Kamath (UIC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Frederic Cadieux (NIU) def. Gautham Oroskar (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
6. Max Phillips (NIU) def. Francisco Pereira (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
Toledo:
Rockets Suffer First Home Loss of Season, Topped by WMU 6-1
Toledo, OH - The Toledo men's tennis team lost its final regular-season contest on Sunday, April 22, falling to Western Michigan 6-1 at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts.
The team's lone senior, Leo Sarria, went 1-1 on Senior Day for Toledo, earning his win in the No. 1 doubles spot, teaming with Tomas Stillman to take down WMU's duo of Indre/Montasser, 8-3. He was topped 6-2, 6-0 in No. 2 singles.
Bryant Dudzik captured the Rockets' lone singles victory of the match, winning 7-6, 6-2 in No. 6 singles over the Broncos' Wong.
Toledo heads into the tournament with a record of 15-11, including a 1-4 mark in conference play. It was the first home loss of the season for the Midnight Blue and Gold
"We had a couple guys today who pressed a lot and it hurt their focus in singles,"said head coach Al Wermer. "We went behind the eight ball, losing the doubles point again, but I did see some small progress there. We just need to just relax more and play hard. That's the magic formula."
The Rockets will be back in action on their home court, along with the rest of the conference, from April 26-28, as UT hosts the 2012 Mid-American Conference championships.
Doubles
1. Sarria/Stillman (UT) def. Indre/Montasser (WMU), 8-3
2. Olivarez/Wong (WMU) def. Adams/Wong (UT), 9-8(7)
3. Vanderploeg/Blomberg (WMU) def. Dimofte/Dudzik (UT), 8-3
Singles
1. Indre (WMU) def. Stillman (UT), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(9)
2. Montasser (WMU) def. Sarria (UT), 6-2, 6-0
3. Olivarez (WMU) def. Wong (UT), 6-2, 6-2
4. Vanderploeg (WMU) def. Adams (UT), 6-2, 6-0
5. Blomberg (WMU) def. Weigand (UT), 6-3, 6-3
6. Dudzik (UT) def. Wong (WMU), 7-6, 6-2
Western Michigan:
Broncos Win Third Straight, Defeat Toledo in Finale
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Western Michigan men's tennis team concluded its regular season with its third straight victory, as the Broncos defeated the Toledo Rockets 6-1 on Sunday. With the win, the Broncos finish the regular season with a 14-11 record, including a 3-2 record in the Mid-American Conference.
The Broncos, seemingly fully recovered from a midseason slump, notched their third straight win in fairly dominant fashion, taking five of six singles matches from the Rockets to eliminate any question about the outcome. Two individual players extended their own season-long win streaks in the process; Ross VanderPloeg won his team-high 12th singles match in a row with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Grant Adams in the No. 4 singles match, while senior Zeyad Montasser took his sixth straight singles match with an identical score in the No. 2 singles match against Leo Sarria.
VanderPloeg also extended his doubles winning streak with partner Simon Blomberg, as the pair won their third on Sunday to tie the doubles session at 1-1. The Broncos were pushed over the top by Pablo Olivarez and Aaron Wong, who beat Adams and Nicky Wong 9-8 (7) in the No. 2 doubles match to clinch the point.
Nadin Indre survived the toughest test of the day, ultimately rallying from a set down to beat Tomas Stillman 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9) in the No. 1 singles match. Olivarez continued his strong play down the stretch with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Toledo's Nicky Wong in the No. 3 singles match. Blomberg rounded out the scoring for the Broncos beating Terence Weigand in the No. 5 singles match.
The Broncos will begin play later this week at the 2012 Mid-American Conference Championship tournament, hosted by Toledo.
Western Michigan 6, Toledo 1
Singles competition
1. Nadin Indre (WMU) def. Tomas Stillman (UT) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9)
2. Zeyad Montasser (WMU) def. Leo Sarria (UT) 6-2, 6-0
3. Pablo Olivarez (WMU) def. Nicky Wong (UT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Ross VanderPloeg (WMU) def. Grant Adams (UT) 6-2, 6-0
5. Simon Blomberg (WMU) def. Terence Weigand (UT) 6-3, 6-3
6. Bryant Dudzik (UT) def. Aaron Wong (WMU) 7-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Leo Sarria/Tomas Stillman (UT) def. Nadin Indre/Zeyad Montasser (WMU) 8-3
2. Pablo Olivarez/Aaron Wong (WMU) def. Grant Adams/Nicky Wong (UT) 9-8 (9-7)
3. Ross VanderPloeg/Simon Blomberg (WMU) def. Bryant Dudzik/Mircea Dimofte (UT) 8-3
