KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Kennosuke Nouchi of the men's tennis team begins his 2017-18 season after being selected to participate in the prestigious 2017 Oracle ITA Masters. The sophomore standout will head to the West Coast this week as the tournament runs from Sept. 21-24 in Malibu, Calif.
 
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"Kennosuke had a fantastic freshman season for the Broncos being nationally ranked in both singles and doubles," commented WMU head coach Dave Morin. "It is very deserving for him to be selected to represent the Mid-American Conference in the 2017 Oracle ITA Masters."
 
Each NCAA Division I conference receives one player into the singles draw. The spot is offered to the top player from the conference who is the highest rated player among other criteria. The Men's Singles Round 1 will begin on Thursday, Sept. 21 at Pepperdine University.
 
Nouchi had a 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. Nouchi went 25-9 overall and 6-1 in the MAC, all of which were at No. 1 or No. 2 in the lineup.
 
The sophomore has also been ranked No. 79 in the 2017 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. The event is hosted by the University of Tulsa as qualifying play begins on Oct. 2.  
 
The rest of the team will be starting the 2017-18 season off at the WMU/Vredevelt Invitational from Saturday, Sept. 23 to Sunday, Sept. 24 at Sorensen Courts (weather permitting). Saturday is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m.