DEKALB, ILL. – The Western Michigan men's tennis team got some revenge Friday afternoon as the Broncos knocked Binghamton out of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament with a 4-1 win on the campus of Northern Illinois. The weather was not ideal as both teams were forced to play in sub-50's temperatures with wind.
The Broncos move to 19-5 this season and will face the winner of Buffalo/Ball State in the MAC Tournament Championship scheduled for Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m.Binghamton was the team that knocked WMU out of the postseason a year ago and was the only MAC team to defeat the Broncos this season.
“The doubles point was really big for us, it felt like they had the momentum in doubles for a while but we came back to win it and that really set the tone,” head coach Dave Morin said. “I think we beat a very good Binghamton team, they are very well coached and fight hard. That was the toughest conditions we played all year too with the weather. Really proud of the guys today, every position was fighting hard for the team win. You want to put yourself in position to get to the NCAA Tournament and that's what we've done here today.”
Doubles started out scary for the Broncos, as the Bearcats came out strong and won at No. 1 to hand the duo of seniors Ruben Greiner/Stephen Payne their first loss of the season. WMU fought back though, as the team of junior Matt Hamilton and sophomore Maik Steiner won 6-3 at No. 2 and senior Jimmy Beckwith/sophomore Jefta Kecic won 6-4 at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point and put the Broncos up 1-0. Hamilton/Steiner moved to 27-5 with the win and Beckwith/Kecic won their seventh straight match.
The Broncos got after the Bearcats quickly in singles, coming about 15-seconds away from earning a 4-0 shutout. Junior Daniel Loebel got it started with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 to improve to 25-10 this season. Kecic followed that up with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 1 to make it 3-0 WMU. After a Binghamton win at No. 2, all three remaining matches were in the third set. Senior Andrew Cahn came out with the clutch 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win at No. 6 to win the match for WMU. Cahn improved to 20-7 overall and has now won six straight matches.
“I think the guys deserve it, especially the seniors,” WMU assistant coach Nadin Indre said. “They've been working hard all of these years and they now have something to play for that is really special. We have some guys that have never played for a MAC Tournament Championship on the team so it's good exposure for them.”
Follow the Broncos on Twitter @WMUMensTennis for all updates about the team!
Singles competition
1. Jefta Kecic (WMU) def. Sid Hazarika (BING) 6-4, 6-0
2. Eliott Hureau (BING) def. Maik Steiner (WMU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
3. Matt Hamilton (WMU) vs. Ludovico Cestarollo (BING) 6-4, 5-7, 2-0, unfinished
4. Ruben Greiner (WMU) vs. Thomas Caputo (BING) 7-5, 1-6, 1-2, unfinished
5. Daniel Loebel (WMU) def. Valentin Bouchet (BING) 6-4, 6-4
6. Andrew Cahn (WMU) def. Frenk Kote (BING) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Ludovico Cestarollo/Sid Hazarika (BING) def. Stephen Payne/Ruben Greiner (WMU) 6-2
2. Maik Steiner/Matt Hamilton (WMU) def. Thomas Caputo/Frenk Kote (BING) 6-3
3. Jefta Kecic/Jimmy Beckwith (WMU) def. Eliott Hureau/Josh Druger (BING) 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,1,2,6)
