MAC Men's Tennis Championship Preview
2014 MAC Men's Tennis Championship
April 25-26 on the campus of Ball State University
Friday, April 25
No. 1 Northern Illinois vs. No. 4 Buffalo, 10:00 am
No. 2 Toledo vs. No. 3 Ball State, 2:00 pm
Saturday, April 26
Championship Match, 1:00 pm
No. 1 Seed Northern Illinois:
Top-Seeded Huskies To Face Buffalo Bulls In Opening Round of MAC Championship Tournament
DeKALB, Ill. - The top-seeded Huskies are competing in the MAC Championship Tournament this weekend, hosted by Ball State in Muncie, Ind. In the first round, NIU will face No. 4 Buffalo (11-7, 1-3 MAC) on Friday, April 25 at 9:00 a.m. central time. If the Huskies win on Friday, they'll take on either No. 2 Toledo (9-17, 2-2 MAC) or No. 3 Ball State (12-11, 2-2 MAC) on Saturday, April 26 in the championship round.
Last weekend, the Huskies played their final regular season game of 2014 at home against Buffalo. With wins in the No. 3 through 6 matches and the claiming of the doubles point, NIU took the match 5-2. The win completed a flawless MAC record for the team at 4-0. NIU finished this spring 18-5 overall.
The Huskies come into the tournament with an excellent spring season behind them. In singles, the team posted a winning record at all positions. They were especially tough in the No. 3 and No. 6, going 17-4 and 21-2 respectively on the whole. In doubles, NIU went 18-3 in No. 1 matches, and Axel Lagerlof and Dor Amir were responsible for most of that, producing a record of 18-2 together this spring. NIU players were frequently recognized by the MAC this year, as all but one member of team received a weekly award.
Buffalo started its season very strong, but the team hit a bit of a rough patch to end it. The Bulls won six of their first seven matches this spring. Since then, they've gone 5-6 with a 1-3 mark in the MAC. Buffalo has played many close matches this season. All but three of their wins were by way of a 4-3 final.
2014 was a season of runs for Toledo. To begin the year, the Rockets lost seven straight. They rebounded by winning four of its next five. Poor times followed, as the Rockets then dropped seven of their next eight. They proceeded to get catch fire down the stretch, winning their next four before dropping the final two matches of the season. They ended up 2-2 in MAC play, earning the second seed in the tournament.
Ball State had a tough schedule this season, facing three teams ranked among the top 20 in the nation. When the end of the season and MAC play came around, the Cardinals got hot. They won four of their last five matches to end the season, earning a spot in the MAC Championship Tournament as the third seed.
NIU has competed in every MAC Championship Tournament since 1999, but a win in the final round has escaped the team. The Huskies will look to change that this year with a win in the tournament for the first time in program history. With two wins this weekend, not only would the Huskies be MAC Champions, but they would also gain admittance into the NCAA Tournament. That will start on Thursday, May 15 in Athens, Ga.
No. 2 Seed Toledo:
Toledo Looks To Cap Off Season With MAC Championship
TOLEDO, OH – The Toledo men’s tennis team will look to put the finishing touches on its season as the Rockets enter the 2014 MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed this weekend in Muncie, IN. Day one will begin on Friday, April 25 when the Rockets take on host No. 3 Ball State at 2:00 p.m.
The winner of Friday’s match will face the winner of No. 1 Northern Illinois and No. 4 Buffalo on Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m. for the conference championship.
“Our only goal is to win the MAC Championship and to be playing in the NCAA Team Championships two weeks from now,” head coach Al Wermer said. “In this event, it’s not about forehands and backhands.”
Toledo (9-17, 2-2 MAC) defeated the Cardinals 4-3 on Sunday, March 30 after trailing 3-0 earlier in the match. The Rockets won four straight singles matches, capped off by junior Mark Singnil’s three-set win.
Singnil was one of three Rockets with at least 10 wins, as he racked up a 16-7 record in dual play and was a four-time MAC Singles Player of the Week. Junior Stjepan Sisko capped off a 15-8 freshman campaign (4-0 MAC) with his first MAC Singles Player of the Week award following a win against Western Michigan on Saturday, April 19 and enters the weekend on a five-match winning streak.
Junior Nicky Wong won 10 singles matches this season, going 10-15 with a 2-0 record in the No. 2 singles spot.
In doubles play, the duo of Sisko and sophomore Garrett Cona won MAC Doubles Team of the Week once and put together a 12-7 overall record with a 7-1 slate in No. 2 doubles.
Ball State features four players with at least 10 wins, led by Lucas Anderson, who had a 15-4 record in dual play and a perfect 4-0 record against MAC competition. Patrick Elliott, Austin Smith and Patrick Downs won 14, 13 and 10 matches, respectively.
The duo of Elliott and Andrew Stutz compiled a 13-3 overall record and were 3-1 in MAC play to lead the team in doubles competition.
The Rockets have won seven MAC Championships, but are looking for their first title since the 1972-73 season. UT failed to make the tournament last season, finishing with a 19-10 overall record and 1-4 ledger in the league.
No. 3 Seed Ball State:
Men’s Tennis Host 2014 MAC Tournament This Weekend
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's tennis team will be the No. 3 seed in the week's 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament which will be hosted by the Cardinals in Muncie, Ind., at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center (April 25-26).
"We are excited and proud to be hosting the conference tournament this weekend," said Ball State head men's tennis coach Bill Richards. "It is a nice reward for winning the 2013 championship. We have a great facility that will allow us to really showcase this event. There were a lot of great matches during the regular season that should lead to a very competitive and exciting tournament. Northern Illinois has been the best team all year and is well deserving of the No. 1 seed.”
The Cardinals will play their first tournament match April 25 against No. 2 Toledo at 2 p.m. Ball State became the third seed after defeating Buffalo 6-1 last Sunday. Ball State enters the tournament with a 12-11 overall mark, while finishing conference action with a 2-2 ledger. Toledo comes to the tournament with a 9-7 campaign and ended league play with a 2-2 mark after losing 6-1 to Western Michigan last Saturday. During the regular season competition Ball State lost a close 4-3 home match to the Rockets (March 30).
Ball State began league play as the defending MAC regular season champions, earning the right to host the 2014 MAC Tournament. The MAC regular season crown was the first for the Cardinals since the 2006 season. Ball State has won 21 MAC titles in program history, including 17 undefeated MAC seasons. Ball State has participated in the MAC for the last 33 years, claiming 37 regular season and or tournament championships. Since the MAC tournament format started in 1997, the Cardinals have won the league tournament six times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2011).
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men’s tennis, follow @bsuathletics and @BallStateMTNS on Twitter.
No. 4 Seed Buffalo:
Bulls to face No. 1 Seed Northern Illinois
Buffalo will make the trek back out to Muncie for the conference tournament, which begins Friday, April 25. As the fourth seed, Bufflao will take on regular season champion Northern Illinois, who beat the Bulls 5-2 on Friday in DeKalb. That match will be held at 10 am Friday morning, with the winner facing either second-seeded Toledo or the third seed Ball State Saturday for a 1 pm title match.
