TOLEDO, OHIO (April 29) - Ball State defeated Western Michigan, 4-2, to win the 2000
Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis championship at the University of
Toledo on April 29. The Cardinals will now represent the MAC at the NCAA
Tournament.
WMU gave Ball State all it could handle. The match was not over until
BSU's No. 5 singles player Edgardo Rivera defeated WMU's Kyle Gernhofer
in a tiebreaker in the third set. Rivera won the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
(7-5). If Gernhofer had pulled out the victory, the match would have
been decided at No. 1 singles, which was still in play when the No. 5
match ended. BSU's Ryan Baxter was holding a 6-5 lead in the third set
over WMU's Fernando Garcia when the match was suspended.
Baxter was named Player of the Year; Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo of Bowling
Green was named Newcomer of the Year; Gernhofer of WMU was given the
Jack Vredevelt Senior Sportsman Award; and WMU's Dave Morin and EMU's
Tony Martin were named co-Coaches of the Year.
2000 MAC Men's Tennis Championship
April 27-29
at Toledo, Ohio
First Round Results - Thursday, April 27
#2: Bowling Green def. #7 Buffalo, 4-0
#3: Ball State def. #6 Eastern Michigan, 4-0
#4: Toledo def. #5 Northern Illinois, 4-0
Semifinal Results - Friday, April 28
#1: Western Michigan 4, #4 Toledo 0
#3: Ball State 4, #2 Bowling Green 0
Championship
#3: Ball State 4, #1 Western Michigan 2
(Ball State receives automatic NCAA Tournament berth)
2000 MAC Award Winners
Player of the Year
Ryan Baxter, Ball State
Newcomer of the Year
Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo, Bowling Green
Coach of the Year (co-winners)
Dave Morin, Western Michigan
Tony Martin, Eastern Michigan
Jack Vredevelt Sportsman of the Year
Kyle Gernhofer, Western Michigan
Championship Match
#3 Ball State 4 #1 Western Michigan 2
Singles
No. 1 Ryan Baxter (BSU) led Fernando Garcia (WMU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-5 (dnf)
No. 2 Steve Pillon (WMU) def. Jason Pressel (BSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
No. 3 Andrew Seni (BSU) def. Christian Brttstrom (WMU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Michael Westerhof (BSU) def. Ryan Tomlinson (WMU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 Edgardo Rivera (BSU) def. Kyle Gernohofer (WMU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 6 Jeff Brink (WMU) def. Eric Butorac (BSU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 Pressel/Baxter (BSU) led Pillon/Tomlinson (WMU), 7-6 (dnf)
No. 2 Butorac/Nick Vizzone (BSU) def. Brink/Garcia (WMU), 8-6
No. 3 Rivera/Westerhoff (BSU) def. Gernhofer/Ryan Maarschalk (WMU), 8-2