KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Due to severe winds in the Kalamazoo area, the first day of the Western Michigan Vredevelt Invitational was forced to play indoors but that didn't slow the men's tennis team down in its first action of the fall season. As a team, WMU went 12-3 overall while two Bronco duos were crowned flight champions.

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"We had a great first day going 12-3 in doubles," commented WMU head coach Dave Morin. "We just hope to take this momentum into our singles play tomorrow."

Senior Lenhard Haupt and junior Jannik Opitz started the season strong together, winning three straight matches to take home the Flight B title. The pair defeated Illinois State's Bartra and Rius (6-1) and Zador and Tuff (6-1), boosting them to the championship match. The final match would end 6-3 as the dynamic duo defeated Sullivan and Dickson from Butler.

Doubles pair of senior Matej Svjetlicic and sophomore Zac Faveri followed suit, winning Flight D. The two flew through the quarters and semis with a pair of 6-3 and 6-4 victories before defeating Somers and Sochurek of Notre Dame, 6-4, in the final match.

In Flight C, junior Kennosuke Nouchi and freshman Jack Randall fell in a heartbreaking 7-6(5) match in the finals to Tonejc F. and Tonejc V. of DePaul. The Bronco duo however notched a 6-3 and 6-2 victory in the quarters and semifinals, starting 2-1 together this season. Also in the flight was Bronco team of senior Kris Knof and freshman Peter Kuszynski, who fell in the semifinals to DePaul's Tonejc F. and Tonejc V.

Seniors Nick Schnobel and Eric Olivarez had their work cut out for them in the Flight A draw. The two notched a 7-6(4) win in the quarters before falling in the semifinals to Notre Dame's Dragos and Shabat (6-4). The two would bounce back to take third in the ultra-competitive flight, winning 7-5 over Sertkaya and Perez of Illinois State.

Two rounds of singles will be played on Saturday with one final round played on Sunday. Tomorrow is set for a 10 a.m. start and weather permitting will be outside on the Sorensen Courts. Admission to all home WMU tennis matches is free.