Mid-American Conference Tennis Week in Review: Week 4

It was not a good thing to be undefeated in the Mid-American Conference this weekend as all of the undefeateds for both men and women suffered their first defeat of the season. The men’s division is continuing to look tough as four of the five teams have winning records, while every women’s team is .500 or better. The Northern Illinois men’s team could prove to be a viable threat to No. 71 Buffalo as its shone competitiveness against No. 57 Indiana on Sunday. For the women, Eastern Michigan is starting to make strides as it downed UMKC before dropping a heartbreaking 3-4 decision to Kansas this weekend.

Men’s Results:

Toledo (2-8): The Rockets return to action after a two-week layoff this weekend when they face Wayne State and Dayton on Friday along with Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday.

Western Michigan (4-3): The Broncos took a major hit this weekend as they fell to No. 57 Indiana 1-6 and Illinois State 3-4. After dropping the doubles point against ISU, they split the six singles matches. Western Michigan will host IPFW and Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday.

Ball State (4-2): The Cardinals rolled on Saturday as they took down Eastern Illinois 6-1 and Indiana Tech 7-0. Ball State will go on the road on February 19 and 22 to take on Xavier and Notre Dame respectively.

Northern Illinois (6-2): The Huskies earned their sixth straight victory in a 6-1 decision over SIU-Edwardsville on Friday before seeing their streak crushed by No. 57 Indiana 5-2 on Sunday. In the match against the Hoosiers, Axel Lagerlof downed the No. 80 singles player in the country 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for one of NIU’s two singles victories. Northern Illinois hits the road to take on Iowa on Friday and will return home to face IUPUI on Sunday.

Buffalo (3-1): The No. 71 Bulls finally tasted defeat this season as they fell 1-6 to Dartmouth on Friday but they responded the following day with a 4-3 victory at Penn. With the score tied 3-3 against the Quakers, Pablo Alvarez clinched the match with a 4-6, 6-5, 6-4 triumph. Buffalo hosts Duquesne on Saturday.

Women’s Results:

Toledo (3-3): The Rockets knocked off UIC 4-3 on Saturday before they lost to Detroit on Sunday 2-5. In the latter match, all of UT’s losses in singles came in straight sets. Toledo picks up play again on Friday as they meet up with IPFW and Bradley on the road, and hit the road for a match-up against Cleveland State.

Buffalo (2-1): After a two-week break, the Bulls will host Duquesne on Saturday and Niagara on Sunday.

Eastern Michigan (6-3): The Eagles split their weekend matches as they blanked UMKC 7-0 before they fell to Kansas 3-4. The reigning MAC Player of the Year Klara Supejova was impressive against the Jayhawks as she was able to win her singles match in straight sets. Eastern Michigan will travel to take on Nebraska on Friday and will stay in Lincoln to take on Illinois State on Saturday.

Northern Illinois (3-1): The Huskies earned 4-3 victories this weekend against SIU-Edwardsville and Cleveland State. After being down 1-2 in the former match, Arantza De La Torre and Cristina Alvarez picked up three-set singles victories while Stephanie McDonald won in straight sets to clinch the match. McDonald is now 3-0 in singles action this season. Northern Illinois plays again on February 22 when they travel to take on Bradley.

Bowling Green (3-1): The Falcons sustained their first loss of the season on Saturday as they were defeated 2-5 at Michigan State but they would rebound on Sunday with a 5-2 victory over UIC. Katie Brozovich had a big match against the Spartans as she and Nikki Chiricosta earned a 6-4 double victory to help BGSU capture the doubles point and she accounted for the lone singles victory. Bowling Green hits the road to take on Cleveland State on Friday.

Western Michigan (6-2): The Broncos impressed on Sunday as they defeated Marquette 5-2 and Davenport 6-1. Three of the four singles wins against the Golden Eagles came in four sets, as Nini Sujashvili, Caroline Aleck, and Tracy Kuhle all emerged victorious. Western Michigan will host Illinois-Chicago on Sunday.

Miami (4-1): The RedHawks also fell from the ranks of the undefeated as they were dropped 0-7 at Indiana but responded on Sunday with a 7-0 rout of IUPUI. Miami travels south this weekend as it faces North Texas on Saturday and SMU on Sunday.

Ball State (5-1): The Cardinals return to action this weekend with home matches against Cincinnati on Saturday and IPFW on Sunday.

Akron (7-1): The Zips also lost for the first time this season on Friday as Penn toppled them 6-1 but would go on to defeat Saint Joseph’s 6-1 on Saturday. Akron continues its road stand on Saturday as it takes on Youngstown State.