KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan men's tennis team started hot against No. 15 seeded Illinois, but the Fighting Illini battled back to a 4-1 win over the Broncos in the NCAA Tournament.
“I thought it was a great environment for a collegiate tennis match, both fan bases were really into it,” Head coach Dave Morin said. “We really played well and got off to a great start in doubles and that carried over into the singles. It was much closer than the 4-1 score would indicate. This is something that we can build on going into next year as we continue to pursue the goal of advancing in the NCAA Tournament.”
WMU will finish the season at 20-6 overall, the fourth 20+ win season under head coach Dave Morin. This year's Broncos won 23 of the 26 possible doubles points on the season, the highest percentage of any team in the NCAA Tournament.
The Broncos came out and stole the momentum of the match, taking the doubles point and jumping out to a 1-0 lead on the nationally-ranked Illinois squad. The duo of Jimmy Beckwith and Jefta Kecic earned a 6-4 win over Jared Hiltzik/Asher Hirsch at No. 3 to improve to 15-2 and end the season on a nine-match winning streak. After Illinois won at No. 2 6-4, it came down to No. 1 with the team of Stephen Payne/Ruben Greiner. Payne and Greiner came away with a clutch 7-6 (7-2) win over the nationally-ranked team of Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic to put a scare in the Illini faithful.
With the Broncos up 1-0, it came down to singles play where Illinois showed why they are the No. 15 seed. The Illini came out and won four straight singles matches at No. 5, No. 6, No. 4 and No. 3 to clinch it. Sophomore First Team All-MAC selections Jefta Kecic and Maik Steiner each took their opponents to a set tiebreaker at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Kecic had the tough task of facing the No. 4 ranked individual player in the nation in Aleks Vukic while Steiner had No. 16 ranked Jared Hiltzik. Junior Matt Hamilton also faced a nationally-ranked opponent in No. 60 Aron Hiltzik.
The Broncos fall to 0-11 in the NCAA Tournament, as a top-16 seed has never been defeated in the first day. WMU is now 2-13 against Illinois and 0-5 in the NCAA Tournament.
Follow the Broncos on Twitter @WMUMensTennis for all updates about the team!
Singles competition
1. #4 Aleks Vukic (ILL) vs. Jefta Kecic (WMU) 7-6 (7-5), 5-2, unfinished
2. #16 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) vs. Maik Steiner (WMU) 7-6 (7-0), 4-4, unfinished
3. #60 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Matt Hamilton (WMU) 7-5, 6-3
4. Julian Childers (ILL) def. Ruben Greiner (WMU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) def. Daniel Loebel (WMU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Asher Hirsch (ILL) def. Andrew Cahn (WMU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Ruben Greiner/Stephen Payne (WMU) def. #87 Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic (ILL) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Alex Jesse/Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) def. Matt Hamilton/Maik Steiner (WMU) 6-4
3. Jimmy Beckwith/Jefta Kecic (WMU) def. Jared Hiltzik/Asher Hirsch (ILL) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,4,3)
Play was suspended during singles and moved indoors at 3-1.
Official: Doug Rice A-285
