KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's tennis team outlasted their opponent in their 2015 dual match season opener, defeating the Detroit Titans 4-3 thanks to a win in the final singles match on the court. With the win, the Broncos open the year with a 1-0 record.
The match came down to the final two players on the court, as Bronco freshman Jefta Kecic and the Titans' Rafael Orantes split the first two sets of the No. 2 singles match. Kecic took the opening set against Orantes by ekeing out a win in a first set tiebreaker, but Orantes responded with a 6-3 win of his own in the second set. Kecic jumped out to a lead in the full third set by picking up a break on Orantes, but Orantes broke back to keep things interesting. The Bronco found his footing at the end of the match, however, rattling off another break and ultimately taking the 6-3 decision in the third set to win the match for his team.
The Broncos gave themselves a 1-0 advantage to start the match by cruising through doubles play, with the duo of Jimmy Beckwith and Stephen Payne striking first in No. 2 doubles. Beckwith and Payne made quick work of Orantes and Jay Joshi, winning 6-1 to take control of the session. Andrew Cahn and Matt Hamilton followed soon after with a 6-3 win in the No. 3 doubles match, and the pair of Kecic and Maik Steiner swept the doubles session with a 6-3 win over Nathan Ponton and Patryk Koscielski.
Detroit tied the match at 1 with a win in the No. 4 singles match, but Pablo Mora put the Broncos back on the board with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Chance Conley in the No. 6 singles match. Hamilton gave the Broncos a 3-2 edge with his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Jay Joshi at the No. 5 position, and Kecic put the match away with his dramatic finish at No. 2.
Western Michigan 4, Detroit Titans Men's Tennis 3
Singles competition
1. Patryk Koscielski (DETROIT) def. Maik Steiner (WMU-M) 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
2. Jefta Kecic (WMU-M) def. Rafael Orantes (DETROIT) 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
3. Kacper Stelmaszak (DETROIT) def. Andrew Cahn (WMU-M) 6-3, 7-5
4. Nathan Ponton (DETROIT) def. Ruben Greiner (WMU-M) 6-2, 6-3
5. Matt Hamilton (WMU-M) def. Jay Joshi (DETROIT) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
6. Pablo Mora (WMU-M) def. Chance Conley (DETROIT) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Jefta Kecic/Maik Steiner (WMU-M) def. Nathan Ponton/Patryk Koscielski (DETROIT) 6-3
2. Jimmy Beckwith/Stephen Payne (WMU-M) def. Rafael Orantes/Jay Joshi (DETROIT) 6-1
3. Andrew Cahn/Matt Hamilton (WMU-M) def. Kacper Stelmaszak/Ismail Kadyrov (DETROIT) 6-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,6,3,5,1,2)
