KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's tennis team swept a doubleheader at home on Friday inside West Hills Athletic Club, defeating Big Ten foe Michigan State and Hope College 7-0 each, improving to 7-6 overall on the season.
Dating back to the 2014-2015 season, the Broncos have posted an impressive 4-1 record against the Spartans. The victory over the Green and White gives WMU its first win over a Big Ten team this year, and the first since defeating Michigan State and Iowa last year.
Versus the Spartans in the first match of the day, the Broncos picked up the doubles point fairly quickly with wins on courts two and three. The Brown and Gold would then go on to win all singles matches with the freshman duo of
Peter Kuszynski and
Jack Randall leading the way with two set wins.
"We've always had a great rivalry with MSU, and look forward to playing them every year," said head coach
Dave Morin. "We were fortunate to win most of the close sets and I think our very challenging schedule up to this point prepared us well for the most important part of the match."
Western Michigan 7, Michigan State 0
Singles competition
1.
Jannik Opitz (MTENWMU) def. Jack Winkler (MSU) 6-2, 7-6 (10-8)
2.
Matej Svjetlicic (MTENWMU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3.
Lenhard Haupt (MTENWMU) def. John Carlin (MSU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
4.
Jack Randall (MTENWMU) def. Anthony Pero (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
5.
Peter Kuszynski (MTENWMU) def. Carson Gates (MSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
6.
Nick Schnobel (MTENWMU) def. Nick Williams (MSU) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
Doubles competition
1.
Jannik Opitz/
Kennosuke Nouchi (MTENWMU) vs. Billy Shisler/Ivan Rakic (MSU) 4-3, unfinished
2.
Jack Randall/
Lenhard Haupt (MTENWMU) def. Jack Winkler/Nick Williams (MSU) 6-3
3.
Peter Kuszynski/
Nick Schnobel (MTENWMU) def. John Carlin/Anthony Pero (MSU) 6-2
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In the second match of the day, the Broncos stayed hot on their home court. WMU would win the doubles point behind victories from Opitz/Nouchi and Schnobel/Haupt. The Brown and Gold would not lose a set in singles play with wins coming on all six courts.
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Western Michigan 7, Hope 0
Singles competition
1.
Lenhard Haupt (MTENWMU) def. Mark VanderStoep (HOPE-M) 6-0, 6-2
2.
Peter Kuszynski (MTENWMU) def. T Roe (HOPE-M) 6-2, 6-4
3.
Kennosuke Nouchi (MTENWMU) def. Michael Kiley (HOPE-M) 6-3, 6-0
4.
Eric Olivarez (MTENWMU) def. Danny Kroeze (HOPE-M) 6-4, 6-1
5.
Zac Faveri (MTENWMU) def. Alec Berrodin (HOPE-M) 6-1, 6-0
6.
Kris Knof (MTENWMU) def. Justin Folkert (HOPE-M) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Mark VanderStoep/Danny Kroeze (HOPE-M) def.
Jack Randall/
Peter Kuszynski (MTENWMU) 6-4
2.
Jannik Opitz/
Kennosuke Nouchi (MTENWMU) def. T Roe/Michael Kiley (HOPE-M) 6-2
3.
Nick Schnobel/
Lenhard Haupt (MTENWMU) def. David Bacon/Carter Smiley (HOPE-M) 6-2
"Hope College is a very good MIAA school with a strong tennis tradition," Morin said. "We were able to see some positive progress from our players."
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Up Next
Western Michigan concludes competition in the month of February with a match on Thursday, Feb. 28 versus Valparaiso at West Hills Athletic Club.Â
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