KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan senior
Anton Arzhankin tied the program record for most singles wins in a season as the Broncos fell to UIC, 4-3, on Thursday afternoon and then broke the record on Saturday as WMU downed NIU, 4-3, to wrap up the regular season.
THURSDAY
Western Michigan started off strong, earning the doubles point thanks to wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Arzhankin and
Oscar Corwin picked up a 6-0 win over Mihailo Savic and Simon Knezevic at No. 3, while
Brogan Pierce and
Drew Evans secured the point with a 6-2 win over Eldin Nokic and Pedro Franca at No. 1.
Pierce extended the team's lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 over Savic. Milos Mikovic got the Flames on the board, beating Corwin 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 to cut the lead to 2-1. Arzhankin then tied the program record for singles wins in a season after picking up his 34th of the year in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Artem Alekseychuk at No. 1. Nokic got UIC back within one after a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win over
Ashton Adesoro at No. 2 and then Knezevic tied it up at 3-3 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over
Alex Antonopoulos at No. 5. Emil Dapcevic won the match for the Flames after a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over
Matej Kajzer at No. 6.
SATURDAY
Northern Illinois got the early jump on the Broncos by winning the doubles point. Iker Arrastia and Federico Scotuzzi defeating Pierce and Evans at No. 1. Adesoro and
Jack Davison equalized things with a 6-3 win at No. 2 over Saul Berdullas and Sam Klein but Chiao Bo Sou Nan and Pratyaksh LNU defeated Arzhankin and Corwin to take the point.
Kajzer tied the match up at 1-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Iker Velasco at No. 6. The Broncos then took the lead, 2-1, after Pierce defeated Pratyaksh 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. Antonopoulos expanded the lead to 3-1 with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Klein. Berdullas got the Huskies back within one after a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win at No. 2 over Adesoro . Arzhankin then secured the victory and the new program record after a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over Arrastia at No. 1 for his 35th win of the season. The Huskies then added a late point after Scotuzzi defeated Corwin 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan hosts the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The Broncos will take on UIC on Saturday at 2 p.m. Top-seeded Buffalo will play Ball State at 10 a.m. The Championship Match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission is free to all matches.
