MATCH PREVIEW
The Western Michigan men's tennis team comes back
from an 11-day break with its first home match since Feb. 24 against
Ferris State. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 39 in the country in NCAA
Division II and are 5-6 overall and 2-0 in the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Bulldogs have struggled in doubles with a 13-20
mark in dual match doubles this season, but they are 36-30 in dual
match singles. Senior Akshay Chellappa leads the way with a 6-2 mark in
singles, 6-1 at No. 2. Seniors Kevin Brundle and Jeremiah DeJose also
both have six dual match singles wins.
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan travelled to Lincoln, Neb., for a
pair of matches on March 7-8. The Broncos couldn't make it two
victories over the host Cornhuskers with a 4-3 loss in Lincoln. The
Broncos had previously beaten Nebraska, 4-3, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
WMU then played No. 54 New Mexico and fell, 7-0,
despite sending three singles matches to the third set and losing one
doubles match in a tiebreaker.
MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Michael Calderone was 5-1 at the
Boilermaker Invitational and earned his first career MAC Player of the
Week award for his efforts on Jan. 23.
Junior Kevin Hayward earned his second career MAC
Player of the Week award on Feb. 20 after going 4-0 against Bradley and
Valparaiso, including not losing a game in an 8-0 doubles victory and
6-0, 6-0 singles triumph against VU.
Freshman Kazuya Komada won his first career MAC
Player of the Week award on Feb. 27 after going 5-1 against Michigan
State, Iowa and Cornell.
Freshman Casey Cullen won his first career MAC
Player of the Week award on March 5 after going 2-1 at the H.E.B.
Collegiate Team Championships and tying a 25-year-old WMU school record.
SCHOOL RECORD
Cullen and Hayward won their first 19 matches this
season, including the first nine of the dual match season, to tie a
25-year-old school record for consecutive doubles victories. R.J.
Dunkle and Mike Woody originally set the record in 1983.
Overall, the tandem is 20-2 on the year.
They are 6-2 at No. 2 and 4-0 at No. 3 doubles during dual match play.
ITA REGIONAL RANKINGS
In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest
Region Rankings, Hayward is No. 30 in singles and seniors Alex
Birchmeier and Bryan Norville are No. 9 in doubles.
TWO FOR TWENTY
Two Western Michigan players have already eclipsed
the 20-win mark in singles this season. Senior Alejandro Staub and
Calderone are both 22-8 this season. Staub has been equally impressive
in tournament play and dual-match action with an 11-4 record in each
discipline. Calderone also has 11 wins in each on his way to an 11-5
record in dual match play.
Another freshman, Komada, is on the verge of twenty
wins as he enters this weekend 19-15. He has the most dual-match wins
on the team with a 12-5 mark playing three or more matches at four
different spots in the lineup (No. 2-No. 5).
POWER IN PAIRS
Doubles has been a big part of WMU's push to 10 wins
this season. The Broncos are 37-11 (.771) in dual match doubles,
winning the doubles point in 12-of-17 matches.
100 WINS UPDATE
Birchmeier has moved into 11th all-time with 167
career victories. Norville is in a tie for 22nd with 144 wins and
Hayward has 122 triumphs as 31st all-time.
UP NEXT
The Broncos welcomed nationally-ranked Purdue to
Kalamazoo on Saturday, March 22 at noon. The Boilermakers are No. 54 in
the country and the fourth and final Big Ten team WMU will face this
regular season.
