MAC Men's Tennis Weekend Preview

 

 

Ball State tennis will host matches at home this weekend beginning Friday when the men host Detroit Mercy at 6 p.m. at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center.  The Cardinals are looking for their first win of the spring after losing to Big Ten foes Northwestern (6-1) and No. 16 Illinois (4-3).  Despite the loss against the Fighting Illini, Ray Leonard pulled off the 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 upset over No. 11 Stephen Hoh at the No. 1 singles position.  Patrick Elliott also was a winner at No. 6 singles after a three set victory over Brian Page.  Ball State also took the doubles point from Illinois.

 

The Ball State men's tennis team will finish the triple header when the men host Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. and then close out this competition with a 7 p.m. match versus Dayton.  The Ball State men's tennis program will head to Bloomington to take on its third Big Ten opponent of the season when it faces Indiana at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 3.  

 

 

 

 

DeKALB, Ill. - Following its season opener at No. 35 Minnesota last Sunday, the men's tennis program will return to the court in a doubleheader Friday afternoon when Northern Illinois hosts both UW-Whitewater and Chicago State at Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford. Matches will begin at 1 and 5 p.m., respectively.

 

The Huskies opened their 2012 campaign at home against the Riverhawks on January 27, where NIU clinched a sweeping victory, 7-0. Northern Illinois earned that same result against the Cougars on its final day of the regular season, April 20, to clinch a share of the Mid-American Conference Championship, 7-0.

 

Sophomore Frederic Cadieux was the Huskies lone winner against the Golden Gophers when he earned a thrilling three set victory at No. 3 over Mathieu Fromont, 4-6, 6-3, (13-11), to close the day for Northern Illinois in the Twin Cities. Minnesota featured two nationally ranked singles players, No. 40 Rok Bonin and No. 63 Leandro Toledo, as well as a nationally ranked doubles pair, No. 24 Bonin and Fromont. NIU fell to UM at the Baseline Tennis Center, 6-1.

 

UW-Whitewater has yet to play to a match this spring and will open it's 2013 season against the Huskies. Last year, the Riverhawks finished with a 22-8 duals record to earn a bid and hosting rights to the NCAA Division III Championship first and second rounds. There, UWW won its first round match over Concordia (Wis.) but fell to Gustavus Adolphus in the second round.

 

Chicago State has already played three matches thus far this season and has an 0-3 record with losses to Northwestern, UIC and Western Illinois last weekend. CSU opened the year against the Flames Saturday with a 7-0 loss and played a double-header with WIU and NU on Sunday. The Cougars Rashley Yeremia earned the lone point of the match with his win at No. 4 against the Leathernecks with a straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-3.

 

The match with CSU will be NIU's first Mid-American Conference match of the year. Northern Illinois will not engage in its next MAC contest until March 29 versus Western Michigan, over two months away.

 

This weekend's matches will be the first two of five-consecutive fixtures at Boylan Tennis Center. Next Friday February 1, the Huskies will host Valparaiso and Dayton in Rockford, also beginning at 1 and 5 p.m., respectively.

 

 

 

 

Toledo, OH - The Toledo men's tennis team will host two matches on Saturday, Jan. 16 against Binghamton and Northwestern Ohio, before traveling to No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 17. 

 

The weekend-opening match against the Bearcats is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start at the Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Maumee, OH, while the evening match with the Racers will begin inside the Shadow Valley Central Club in Toledo at approximately 7:00 p.m. The finale is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start time versus the Buckeyes at the OSU Varsity Tennis Courts. 

 

"We're looking forward to another tripleheader weekend," UT Head Coach Al Wermer said, "This is the time of year when our weeks are short and our focus is on improving match preparation and play. I see every player getting better, and our team spirit has also continued to climb coming out of the Holiday Break."

 

Toledo (4-2) is coming off a solid performance last weekend, finishing with a 2-1 record while only losing to 16th-ranked Illinois in a match played with an alternative format last Saturday. UT rebounded with a doubleheader sweep the next day over Walsh at home, 6-1 and Detroit on the road, 4-3.

 

The Rockets have benefited from consistent play by sophomores Tomas Stillman, Grant Adams and Nicky Wong through six matches this season. Stillman holds a 3-1 record at No. 1 singles and Adams is undefeated at the No. 2 position with a 4-0 ledger. Wong is a combined 4-1 at No. 2, 3 and 4 spots.

 

The Midnight Blue and Gold will square off with Binghamton for the first time ever. Saturday's afternoon match is the season opener for the Bearcats. Northwestern Ohio visited the Rockets for the first time last season with UT winning by a 6-1 tally. Toledo and Ohio State have met numerous times, most recently on Jan. 29 last season with the Scarlet and Gray claiming a 4-0 victory over the Rockets. 

 

 

 

 

Western Michigan Broncos vs. IPFW Mastodons

Friday, January 25 // 12 p.m.

Kalamazoo, Mich. // West Hills Athletic Club

 

Western Michigan Broncos vs. UW-Green Bay Phoenixes

Friday, January 25 // 6 p.m.

Kalamazoo, Mich. // West Hills Athletic Club

 

THE SERIES:  This will be the 10th meeting between the Broncos and the Mastodons, with WMU holding a perfect 9-0 advantage in the all-times series. The last time the teams met was in 2011, when the Broncos downed IPFW 6-1, winning the doubles point and five of six singles matches.

 

This will be the 14th meeting between the Broncos and the Phoenixes, with Western Michigan holding an 11-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Broncos took the doubles point in exciting fashion, and took four of six singles matches to clinch the match victory.

 

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FALL:  Members of the Broncos went 1-2 overall in their dealings with members of the Mastodons in the fall, going 0-2 in doubles matches but winning the lone singles contest; Stephen Pahyne defeated Tim Saltys 6-3, 7-6 (6) at the Purdue Fall Invitational.

 

The Broncos went 5-5 in their individual meetings with the Phoenixes over the course of the fall, with Green Bay holding a 3-2 advantage in doubles play and the Broncos a 3-2 advantage in singles play. Michael Treis defeated Gary Notkin 6-0, 6-2 in singles play, Ross VanderPloeg beat Erik Finkenbrink 6-3, 6-1, and Aaron Wong defeated Michael Tebon 6-4, 6-3. The doubles pairings of Jim Beckwith & Michael Treis , as well as Payne and VanderPloeg, were the doubles teams to win against Green Bay.

 

RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF:  Junior Nadin Indre picked up right where he left off in 2012, winning the first MAC Player of the Week award for 2013. Indre went 6-0 in the opening two weeks of competition for the Broncos, including two No. 1 singles wins, two No. 1 doubles wins, and wins in both the No. 2 singles and doubles matches against Detroit.