KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan University, along with the men's tennis team, are set to host the four-team 2017 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament this weekend from Friday, April 28 to Saturday, April 29. Matches will either take place at Sorensen Courts (outdoors) or West Hills Athletic Club (indoors), depending on weather.
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The Broncos, who come into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, are eyeing their 11th MAC Tournament title and are looking to repeat after last year's Tournament Championship. WMU will face No. 3 seeded Ball State on Friday, April 28 at 2 p.m. following No. 1 Buffalo vs. No. 4 Northern Illinois at 10 a.m.
WMU went 2-0 against Ball State this season, first earning a 5-2 win at home over the Cardinals on March 24 and then traveling to Muncie and winning 4-3 on April 14. In the two matches this season, junior Maik Steiner and sophomore Matej Svjetlicic were the lone Broncos to go 2-0 against the Cardinals while Matt Hamilton and Kennosuke Nouchi each went 1-1. In both matches, Western Michigan won the doubles point.
The Broncos have four players that have hit the 20-win mark in singles, with No. 118 Nouchi/Jannik Opitz both leading the way with a 24-8 record. Hamilton went 22-9 with a 6-1 record in MAC while Eric Olivarez is 21-9 and Svjetlicic is 21-11 this season.
In doubles, the duo of Olivarez/Opitz are a perfect 10-0 this season, all of which have come at No. 3 while Daniel Loebel/Nouchi lead the team in wins with a 12-7 record.
If the Broncos win on Friday over the Cardinals, they will face the winner of No. 1 Buffalo and No. 4 Northern Illinois on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the MAC Tournament Championship. Admission to the MAC Tournament is free of charge.
