Mid-American Conference

2015 MAC Men's Tennis Championship Scoreboard

MAC Men's Tennis Tournament Schedule:
Friday, April 24
10:00 am ET    No. 4 seed Buffalo 4, No. 1 seed Northern Illinois 2
2:00 pm ET      No. 3 seed Binghamton 4, No. 2 seed Western Michigan 3
Saturday, April 25
1:00 pm ET      Championship Match -- No. 3 Binghamton vs. No. 4 Buffalo


No. 4 Seed Buffalo:

Bulls Defeat Top Seed NIU, 4-2, To Advance To Championship Match
WATCH Interview with Head Coach Lee Nickell

DEKALB, Ill. -- The University at Buffalo, State University of New York men's tennis team will play for a 2015 Mid-American Conference title Saturday after upsetting host Northern Illinois in the semifinals Friday at the West Tennis Courts. The fourth-seeded Bulls (11-10) defeated the top-seeded Huskies (18-6), 4-2. The Bulls will play the winner of second-seeded Western Michigan and third-seeded Binghamton at 2 pm ET Saturday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

"This week we talked about consistency in the way we compete, and today we had seven guys compete throughout the match," said sixth-year head coach Lee Nickell. "I am very proud of these young men, but we know that there is one more brutally tough match ahead. We are focused on recovering and resting for tomorrow's championship."

It is the second straight season that UB has lost to the Huskies, 5-2, in the regular-season and defeated top-seeded NIU in the MAC semifinals, 4-2, as the four seed.

UB secured the doubles point in come-from-behind fashion. The Huskies' Simon Formont and Carlos Manzanas defeated senior Damien David and junior Akhil Mehta, 6-2, at third doubles moments before juniors Amar Hromic and Pablo Alvarez paired up at the second position for a 6-1 win over Frederic Cadieux and Louis-Philippe Hamel. With doubles knotted 1-1, junior Sergio Arevalillo and sophomore Jonathan Hannestad outlasted Kevin Daun and Georg Lundkvist, 6-4, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Lundkvist evened the match, 1-1, defeating Arevalillo, 7-5, 6-4, at sixth singles, but Hromic answered with a straight-set victory over Manzanas at five, 6-4, 7-5. Alvarez pulled UB within one match of victory defeating Formont, 7-5, 7-5, at second singles. Not to be outdone, NIU's Tom Hjertonsson posted a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over Hannestad at the fourth position.

With a 3-2 edge, David was the difference maker for the Bulls clinching a three-setter at first singles to power UB to victory. He had breezed through the first set, 6-1, but Cadieux bounced back to take the second, 6-2. David, the 2014 MAC Player of the Year, outdid the Husky in the third, 6-3, to clinch UB a spot in the championship match.

Senior Sebastian Ionescu's third-singles match went unfinished in the favor of Hamel, 6-3, 3-6, 4-2.

The Bulls return to the title match for the fourth time in six seasons and second in as many years. Every UB championship appearance has come under Nickell's direction. In tournament play, the Bulls are 0-6 against Western Michigan, though have not yet faced the Bearcats in the postseason.

DOUBLES
No. 1: Hannestad/Arevalillo (UB) def. Daun/Lundkvist (NIU), 6-4
No. 2: Hromic/Alvarez (UB) def. Cadieux/Hamel (NIU), 6-1
No. 3: Formont/Manzanas (NIU) def. David/Mehta (UB), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

SINGLES
No. 1: Damien David (UB) def. Frederic Cadieux (NIU), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2: Pablo Alvarez (UB) def. Simon Formont (NIU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3: Sebastian Ionescu (UB) vs. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU), DNF 3-6, 6-3, 2-4
No. 4: Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) def. Jonathan Hannestad (UB), 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
No. 5: Amar Hromic (UB) def. Carlos Manzanas (NIU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6: Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def. Sergio Arevalillo (UB), 7-5, 6-4

Order of finish: 6, 5, 2, 4, 1


No. 3 seed Binghamton:

Bearcats Advance To MAC Championship With 4-3 Win Over Broncos
Watch Interview with Binghamton Head Coach Nick Zieziula

DeKALB, Ill. - Junior No. 1 Sid Hazarika gained an early service break in the third set and his comeback win was the clinching point in Binghamton's riveting 4-3 triumph over second-seeded Western Michigan in a MAC semifinal match Friday afternoon on the campus of Northern Illinois.

The third-seeded Bearcats now advance to the program's eighth consecutive conference championship match, and will meet fellow SUNY Center Buffalo in Saturday's title match. Buffalo knocked off top-seeded and host NIU in the day's first semifinal. The winner of the 1 p.m. title showdown gains an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

The see-saw match extended beyond four hours.

Hazarika was a two-time player of the year in the America East before BU took membership in the MAC this fall. His guile and shotmaking were on display in the final match. With the team score knotted at 3-3 and both teams huddled around Court 1, Hazarika forged an early break and then held serve throughout the set to post a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Western Michigan's Maik Steiner. Hazarika was one game away from losing the match in the second set. After dropping the first set, he trailed 5-4 before rallying.

The Bearcats grabbed the early momentum by taking the doubles point, thanks to wins at the top two spots. The tandem of senior Robin Lesage and junior Eliott Hureau provided the winning margin with their 6-4 win at No. 1.

Western Michigan, which has won seven of the previous nine MAC titles and 23 overall, quickly evened the score at 1-1 with the first completed singles match. The Broncs won first sets in four of the six singles matches to turn the tide. 

But senior No. 3 Ismael Dinia then posted a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 3 to give BU a 2-1 edge. The Broncs evened it again with a win at No. 5 but sophomore No. 6 Frenk Kote used the momentum from a first-set tiebreak and provided the third team point with a 7-6, 6-2 win.

After Western Michigan won a close battle at fourth singles, all eyes shifted to Hazarika's match, and the third-year standout didn't disappoint.

NOTES
Dinia's win was his 78th career singles victory, moving him into a tie for fourth place all-time ... Binghamton won seven consecutive America East championships before the conference discontinued the sport and BU was welcomed into the MAC for this season ... Binghamton is 13-4 all-time against Buffalo, including a 5-2 home win over the Bulls on April 1 indoors at the Binghamton Tennis Center. the Bearcats are seeking the program's 10th NCAA bid in the last 13 years.

MAC Semifinals
#3 Binghamton 4, #2 Western Michigan 3

DOUBLES
1. Lesage/Hureau (BING) def. Kecic/Greiner (WMU), 6-4
2. Dinia/Shah (BING) def. Beckwith/Payne (WMU), 6-3
3. Steiner/Hamilton (WMU) def. Hazarika/Kote (BING), 6-1

Order of Finish: 3,2,1

SINGLES
1. Sid Hazarika (BING) def. Maik Steiner (WMU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
2. Jefta Kecic (WMU) def. Robin Lesage (BING), 6-1, 6-3
3. Ismael Dinia (BING) def. Ruben Greiner (WMU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Matt Hamilton (WMU) def. Eliott Hureau (BING), 6-4, 7-5
5. Jimmy Beckwith (WMU) def. Thomas Caputo (BING), 6-2, 6-4
6. Frenk Kote (BING) def. Pablo Mora (WMU), 7-6, 6-2

Order of Finish: 2,3,5,6,4,1