DEKALB, Ill. - The Western Michigan men's tennis team reached the finals of the Mid-American Conference tournament for the second consecutive season, as the Broncos defeated the Buffalo Bulls 4-2 at the Huskie Tennis Courts on the campus of Northern Illinois.  With the win, the Broncos improve to 18-9 on the season, and will face the hosting NIU Huskies in the finals on Saturday on 1 p.m.

The Broncos' win was sparked by a comeback win in doubles play; despite trailing in No. 2 doubles, the Broncos surged back and took the doubles session thanks to a pair of wins at the bottom of the line-up.  Jim Beckwith and Aaron Wong downed Sebastian Ionescu and Akhil Mehta 9-7 in the No. 2 doubles match, with Ross VanderPloeg and Andrew Cahn winning an exciting 9-8 (4) tiebreaker in the No. 3 doubles match to give the Broncos the opening point.

Cahn and Pablo Mora gave the Broncos the lead with wins in the singles session, putting the Broncos in position to clinch the match with just one more win.  Cahn made short work of Sergio Arevalillo in the No. 5 singles match, winning 6-3, 6-0, while Mora won a tight second set against Mehta to win 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 6 singles position.

The match was clinched by VanderPloeg, who survived a tight first set with Damien David at the No. 2 singles position before cruising in the second set.  VanderPloeg took control of the situation in the second frame, winning 7-5, 6-2 to clinch the match.

#2 Western Michigan 4, #3 Buffalo 2
Huskie Tennis Courts
DeKalb, Ill.
 
SINGLES:
No. 1: Vusa Hove (UB) def. Nadin Indre (WMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
No. 2: Ross VanderPloeg (WMU) def. Damien David (UB) 7-5, 6-2
No. 3: Sebastian Ionescu (UB) vs. Aaron Wong (WMU) 7-6 (7-5), 2-1, unfinished
No. 4: Pablo Alvarez (UB) def. Ruben Greiner (WMU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5: Andrew Cahn (WMU) def. Sergio Arevalillo (UB) 6-3, 6-0
No. 6: Pablo Mora (WMU) def. Akhil Mehta (UB) 6-3, 7-5
 
DOUBLES:
No. 1: Vusa Hove/Damien David (UB) def. Nadin Indre/Ruben Greiner (WMU) 8-1
No. 2: Jimmy Beckwith/Aaron Wong (WMU) def. Sebastian Ionescu/Akhil Mehta (UB) 9-7
No. 3: Ross VanderPloeg/Andrew Cahn (WMU) def. Yevginey Shkodnik/Sergio Arevalillo (UB) 9-8 (7-4)