KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan men's tennis opens its 2020 dual season schedule this Sunday, January 12 by hosting Butler and Illinois Chicago at the West Hills Athletic Club. The Broncos will face the Bulldogs at 10 a.m., to be followed by a contest against the Flames at 3:30 p.m.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Butler went 21-7 in 2019, dropping just one conference regular season contest to finish 2nd in the overall standings. The Bulldogs defeated Villanova 4-2 in the Big East quarterfinals, before falling to Marquette in the semifinal round.

Sophomore Thomas Brennan was named to the All-Big East Second Team in 2019. The Broncos have never lost to Butler, having won all 18 meetings between the two schools. 

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC finished last season with an overall record of 7-15 and finished third in the Horizon League with a conference mark of 4-2. The Flames advanced all the way to the Horizon League Tournament final in West Lafayette, Ind., where they were defeated by Cleveland State.

UIC returns three All-Horizon League performers from 2019, in Johan Hedstrom (First Team), Kasper Parlklo (Second Team) and Nico Wasilewicz (Second Team). Western Michigan is 27-0 all-time against the Flames, which included two 7-0 victories in 2019.

2019 AT-A-GLANCE
Western Michigan went 18-9 last year, winning its 25th MAC Regular Season Championship after going 7-0 in conference play for the second straight campaign. The Broncos defeated NIU to claim their 13th MAC Tournament Championship in program history.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020
The Broncos return five members from their 2019 MAC Championship squad, including the reigning MAC Player of the Year in Jannik Opitz and Newcomer of the Year in Peter Kuszynski. Opitz is currently ranked 41st in the ITA men's doubles rankings with his partner Kennosuke Nouchi. Rodrigo Crespo and Arjun Honnappa are both expected to make an immediate impact in their freshman campaign. 

UP NEXT
WMU will head to Iowa for three more non-conference matches. The Broncos will face Drake on Friday, January 17 in Des Moines before traveling to the University of Iowa on Saturday. Western Michigan will close out its Hawkeye State road trip back in Des Moines on Sunday, where they will take on Gonzaga in a neutral site match-up. 

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