KALAMAZOO -- The No. 71 Western Michigan men's tennis team knocked off Ball State, 6-1, in a matchup of the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the Mid-American Conference. With the win, the Broncos (17-7, 4-0 MAC) clinched at least a share of their second consecutive MAC regular season championship.

WMU can clinch the title outright with a victory over Northern Illinois next Saturday at 1 p.m.

"Another hard fought match between the Broncos and the Cardinals," head coach Dave Morin said. "We talked all week about fighting hard and I think that carried us through today. I think that fight was especially important in singles after we got off to a bad start.

"I feel fortunate to have gotten through this match today, but there is still a lot of tennis to be played. We'll enjoy this for a little while, but then we need to refocus and get ready for a talented Northern Illinois team next weekend."

The Brown & Gold started out by winning all three doubles matches over the Cardinals (9-12, 2-1 MAC). Freshmen Kazuya Komada and Michael Calderone won 8-1 at No. 3 to get things started and seniors Alex Birchmeier and Bryan Norville clinched the point with an 8-6 win at No. 1. Junior Kevin Hayward and freshman Casey Cullen improved to 26-3 with an 8-6 win at No. 2.

Norville continued the scoring in singles by coming back from 4-5 down in the first set. He won nine of the next 12 games to defeat Shaun Bussert 7-5, 6-3 at No. 5.

Senior Alejandro Staub improved to 29-8 overall and 18-4 in dual matches with a 6-2, 6-3 win over reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Bret Berryman at No. 3. It was Staub's first match of the season at No. 3.

Ball State claimed its lone point in the next match off, but then Calderone broke a 3-3 tie in the third set to defeat Joe Vallee 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 at No. 6. Calderone is now 28-9 overall and 17-6 in dual matches.

Hayward and Komada both had to come back after losing the first set at No. 1 and No. 4 to finish out the scoring. Hayward defeated Eduardo Pavia 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 and Komada overcame a 4-5 deficit in the second set to knock off Jorge Rodriguez 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

The Broncos finish the regular season next Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois.

Tennis Match Results
Ball State vs Western Michigan
Apr 12, 2008 at Kalamazoo, Mich.
West Hills Athletic Club

#71 Western Michigan 6, Ball State 1

Singles competition
1. Kevin Hayward (WMU) def. Eduardo Pavia (BSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Jose Perdomo (BSU) def. Alex Birchmeier (WMU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Alejandro Staub (WMU) def. Bret Berryman (BSU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Kazuya Komada (WMU) def. Jorge Rodriguez (BSU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
5. Bryan Norville (WMU) def. Shaun Bussert (BSU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Michael Calderone (WMU) def. Joe Vallee (BSU) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Alex Birchmeier/Bryan Norville (WMU) def. Jose Perdomo/Jorge Rodriguez (BSU) 8-6
2. Casey Cullen/Kevin Hayward (WMU) def. Eduardo Pavia/Bret Berryman (BSU) 8-6
3. Michael Calderone/Kazuya Komada (WMU) def. Shaun Bussert/Danny Vidal (BSU) 8-1

Match Notes
Ball State 9-12, 2-1 MAC
Western Michigan 17-7, 4-0 MAC; National ranking #71
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,3,2,6,1,4)
WMU clinches no worse than a share of MAC regular season championship