SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sophomore Daniel Loebel and freshman Matej Svjetlicic of the Western Michigan men's tennis team will each have a chance to play for a spot in the ITA Midwest Regional Championships Main Draw tomorrow. Loebel and Svjetlicic earned two wins today in the qualifying draw and need to win one more to make the main draw.
"We got off to a real good start in those first round matches with wins by all four of our players," Head coach Dave Morin said. "We were playing our best tennis when it mattered most as we went 6-0 in tiebreakers today."
Loebel earned a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over No. 11 seeded Drew Dawson of Notre Dame before winning 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 over Nick Dykema of Marquette. Loebel improved to 6-4 this season. Svjetlicic pushed his winning streak to 11 matches with a 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) win over No. 4 seeded Kyle Johnson of DePaul and a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4) win over Omar Espinosa of Toledo. Svjetlicic improved his season record to 13-1 overall. Loebel will face top-seeded Kevin Wong of Michigan and Svjetlicic will face No. 14 seeded Brenden Kempin of Notre Dame.
Senior Andrew Cahn and freshman Eric Olivarez each went 1-1 Thursday and were eliminated from making the main draw. Cahn earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Michael Savaglio of Valparaiso before losing his second match while Olivarez earned a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win over Mirko Radosevic of Cleveland State before losing his second match. Cahn moved to 8-4 and Olivarez moved to 6-3 this season.
Follow this link to see the qualifying draw: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/m-tennis/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_event/QualifyingResults.pdf
Qualifying Singles
Cahn (WMU) def. Michael Savaglio (Valpo), 6-4, 6-3
Lubo Cuba (Michigan) def. Cahn (WMU), 6-1, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4
Loebel (WMU) def. Drew Dawson (Notre Dame), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Loebel (WMU) def. Nick Dykema (Marquette), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Kyle Johnson (DePaul), 6-4, 7-6 (11-9)
Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Omar Espinosa (Toledo), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
Olivarez (WMU) def. Mirko Radosevic (Cle. St), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Kissell (Valpo) def. Olivarez (WMU), 6-3, 6-2
After the last round of the qualifying draw, the main draw will begin where senior Ruben Greiner, junior Matt Hamilton and sophomores Jefta Kecic and Maik Steiner all await their matchups. Doubles play will also begin Friday night.
Follow @WMUMensTennis on Twitter for updates all throughout the ITA Midwest Regional Championships.
