KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Following a record-breaking 2017-18 season, the Western Michigan men's tennis team and head coach Dave Morin announced the team award winners and next season's captains.

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The Broncos finished 22-5 overall, 7-0 in the Mid-American Conference and a perfect 11-0 at home while winning both the conference regular season title and the MAC Tournament Championship. Western Michigan was one of 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament with 20+ wins and rode an 11-match winning streak into the 64-team championship.

The Brown & Gold were ranked for four consecutive weeks during the season and were ranked as high as 31. Leading the way for the Broncos were MAC Coach of the Year Morin and senior captain Maik Steiner who was tabbed MAC Player of the Year. Three other Broncos received All-MAC honors including first team selection Jannik Opitz and second team selections Lenhard Haupt and Kennosuke Nouchi.

Along with Steiner the Broncos also said goodbye to senior captain Billy Heckman who made a huge contribution to the team with his leadership and strong doubles play.

Team MVP / Singles Player of the Year: Maik Steiner, Senior, Erbach, Germany
Steiner, who was ranked as high as No. 65 during the season, finished up his WMU career at 15 in career wins in Bronco history after going 30-10 in singles and 22-18 in doubles this season. Following the MAC Tournament, he became the eighth player in program history to be tabbed MAC Player of the Year and was honored to the All-MAC First Team. He was the No. 1 player for the Broncos all year and went 17-5 in dual matches and a perfect 7-0 against his conference opponents, including two wins in the tournament. During the year, Steiner grabbed four MAC Singles Player of the Week honors and one Doubles Team of the Week with counterpart Heckman.
 
Coach Morin on Steiner: "Maik had our best showing ever for a Bronco by advancing to the semis of the Midwest regional, held down the No. 1 singles position all year, went undefeated in conference singles play and was the MAC Player of the Year. He was also a great team leader who led by example with his hard work and humility."
 
Rookie of the Year: Lenhard Haupt, Junior, Mainz, Germany
Haupt, a transfer from USC Upstate, went 27-12 in singles, playing primarily at three and four with a combined record of 17-6 at the spots. The All-MAC Second Teamer went 6-1 in league play, ended the year winning eight of his last 10 matches and was also tabbed a MAC Singles Player of the Week back on Feb. 28. In doubles, Haupt went 11-12 with a 3-1 record with junior counterpart Kris Knof.
 
Coach Morin on Lenhard: "Lenhard had a fantastic first year for us going 27-12 in singles, being selected to the Second Team All-Conference squad and making a big difference by solidifying the middle part of our team line-up."
 
Most Improved: Matej Svjetlicic, Junior, Zagreb, Croatia
Svjetlicic was one of three Broncos to post 30 wins on the season with a perfect 7-0 record against MAC opponents. The Croatian went an impeccable 30-7 overall including a 23-2 spring record and a perfect 12-0 stint at six. He finished the season with the longest active winning streak of five matches and also held two nine-match winning streaks during the year.
 
Coach Moring on Matej: "Matej made significant strides for us both on and off the court and was almost a sure thing for us playing at #5 and #6 singles where he had a team best 30-7 singles mark.  I look for Matej to continue his development in his senior year and be an all-conference performer for the Broncos."
 
Doubles Team of the Year: Nick Schnobel & Eric Olivarez
Together the duo garnered MAC Doubles Team of the Week on Feb. 28 and led the team with a 19-8 overall record, going 13-5 in the spring. The pair went a perfect 6-0 against their MAC opponents and held a 10-2 record at two. In their last 10 matches, the junior duo went 7-3.
 
Coach Morin on Nick and Eric: "Nick and Jed had a great regional showing advancing to the quarterfinals and we kept them together most of year because they complimented each other well and were very productive going 19-8 overall and undefeated in conference play."
 
Co-Hap Sorensen Coaches Award: Jannik Opitz & Lenhard Haupt
Both Opitz and Haupt were recently named Academic All-MAC and both were honored with conference postseason honors. Opitz went an impressive 30-10 overall in singles, going 19-5 this spring and 9-3 at No. 2 for the Broncos. Prior to his loss against No. 25 Notre Dame in the NCAA first round, Opitz held a 12-match winning streak. In doubles play, the All-MAC First Teamer went 23-14 overall and 12-6 with partner Nouchi.
 
Coach Morin on Jannik and Lenhard: "Both of these guys are a dream to coach.  Very disciplined in their approach, 4.0 students and hardworking and talented."
 
Team Captains: Lenhard Haupt / Matej Svjetlicic / Jannik Opitz
Coach Morin on the captains: "Assistant coach Pablo Nunez and I are excited to work with our tri-captains as we look to keep building on our Bronco tennis tradition.  We return a very strong nucleus for next year as well as the addition of three talented recruits, but we'll have to stay focused and motivated if we want to have another successful season. Our tri-captains will play a critical role as we look to get the most out of our team."