KALAMAZOO, Mich. – As the Western Michigan men's tennis team gears up for the 2017-18 season, sophomore standout Kennosuke Nouchi has been ranked No. 79 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Associate (ITA) Collegiate Tennis Men's Division I Preseason Rankings and will head to the ITA All-American Championships after being selected into the qualifying singles draw.

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The ITA unveiled the official selections for the ITA All-American Champions, which will be hosted by the University of Tulsa. Qualifying play runs on Oct. 2 & 3 as Nouchi looks to become the first Bronco to reach the main draw singles (Oct. 5-9). The sophomore is one of two Mid-American Conference members to make the qualifying draw.

Nouchi finished his stellar freshman campaign for the Broncos, where he was named the MAC Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-MAC and to the All-MAC Tournament Team. He was in the top-125 of the ITA Singles Rankings for multiple weeks during the season. He went 25-9 overall and 6-1 in the MAC, all of which were at No. 1 or No. 2 in the lineup. Prior to the ITA All-American Championships, Nouchi will be participating in the prestigious 2017 ITA Oracle Masters on Sept. 21-24 in Malibu, Calif.

Senior Maik Steiner, sophomore Jannik Opitz and junior Matej Svjetlicic have been selected to participate in the ITA All-American Championships pre-qualifying singles play that begins on Sept. 30. while junior Eric Olivarez awaits his chance to participate, sitting in the pre-qualifying singles alternate list.

 The full Bronco men's tennis schedule will be announced at a later date.