Mid-American Conference Tennis Week in Review: Week 3

With another weekend of tennis in the books, we’re starting to get more of a feel for each team as we inch ever closer to conference play. Buffalo looks to be a major player in the MAC on the men’s side while there are three women’s teams that have yet to taste defeat this season. This will be a B1G weekend for a few teams as they square off against Big Ten teams on the road after MAC teams went 0-4 against the conference.

Men’s Results:

Toledo (2-8): In their four-match stretch this weekend, the Rockets posted a 5-2 win over Tennessee Tech and then fell 1-6 at Louisville before returning home to defeat Youngstown State 6-1 and to fall 3-4 to IPFW. UT nearly completed the comeback against IPFW despite dropping the doubles point as the match was was tied 3-3, but Garrett Cona would fall in three sets for the deciding point. Toledo returns to action on the weekend of February 14-16 when it faces Wayne State, Dayton, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Ball State (2-2): This weekend, the Cardinals were dropped to .500 after sustaining a 0-7 loss at No. 48 Michigan State. The doubles teams of Ray Leonard/Patrick Elliott and Austin Smith/Lucas Andersen put up valiant efforts, but both eventually fell in doubles 6-8 while everyone in singles were defeated in straight sets. They will look to pick up the pieces against Indiana Tech and Eastern Illinois at home on Saturday.

Western Michigan (4-1): After a two-week layoff, the Broncos finally return to the court this week as they travel to Indiana on Friday.

Northern Illinois (5-1): The Huskies had three matches on tap this weekend, all of which resulting in decisive victories as they downed Southern Illinois 6-1 on Saturday and won 7-0 against both Detroit and Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday. They return to play next week as they host SIU-Edwardsville on Friday prior to traveling to Bloomington, In. to face Indiana on Sunday.

Buffalo (2-0): The No. 69 Bulls remained undefeated on Saturday as they survived a 4-3 thriller against Cleveland State. After starting out with a 2-0 lead in the match, Buffalo found itself down 2-3 before Sergio Arevalillo and Akhil Mehta both won in three sets to clinch the victory. They will hit the road on Friday and Saturday to face Dartmouth and Penn respectively.

Women’s Results:

Northern Illinois (1-1): On Sunday, the Huskies suffered their first defeat of the season as they fell 2-5 at Wisconsin. In the match-up, the tandem of Arantza De La Torre and Nelle Youel had the only doubles win for Northern Illinois as it triumphed 6-4 while Cristina Alvarez and Stephanie McDonald claimed victories in singles play. NIU hosts SIU-Edwardsville and Cleveland State on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Toledo (2-2): On Friday, the Rockets downed IUPUI 7-0 to get back to .500 on the season. They start play again next weekend when they face off against UIC and Detroit on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Buffalo (2-1): The Bulls split its matches over the weekend as they fell 3-4 to Cornell on Friday and triumphed 4-3 over UMBC on Saturday. Buffalo dropped the first match after being tied with Cornell at 2-2 and surrendered consecutive points after being up 3-0 before Laura Fernandez clinched the victory with a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 10-8 decision. They will return to action on February 15 and 16 when they host Duquesne and Niagara respectively.

Western Michigan (4-2): The Broncos split a doubleheader on Friday as they fell 2-5 to No. 39 Indiana before blanking Oakland 7-0. They took the doubles point in the match against IU as the duos of Nini Sujashvili and Tracy Kuhle along with Kathleen Hawkins and Caroline Aleck earned 6-4 and 7-5 victories respectively. Western Michigan hosts another doubleheader on Sunday as they face Marquette and Davenport College.

Eastern Michigan (5-2): The Eagles had their four match winning streak snapped as they were soundly defeated 1-6 at Michigan State on Sunday. The doubles team of Nino Mebuke and Klara Supejova competed hard before falling 6-7 and Mebuke accounted for the only EMU point with a singles win in straight sets. Eastern Michigan will try to regroup as it hits the road to Lawrence, Ks. this weekend to take on UMKC on Friday and Kansas on Saturday.

Ball State (5-1): The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three on Saturday as they beat Cleveland State 6-1. They will return to action on February 15 when they host Cincinnati. Ball State is 4-0 at home this season with all the victories being decisive (two 7-0 wins, two 6-1 triumphs).

Bowling Green (2-0): The Falcons took out Duquesne 5-2 on Saturday to stay unbeaten on the season as they took five singles matches in straight sets. They will have a test on Saturday as they will travel to East Lansing, Mi. to take on Michigan State.

Miami (3-0): The RedHawks still remain perfect after downing Wright State 7-0 on Friday and taking down Cincinnati 4-3 on Saturday. In the match against UC with the score at 3-3, Andreea Badileanu clinched the match with a 6-1,7-5 singles win. The defending MAC champions hit the road on Saturday to square off against Indiana and will return home to face IUPUI on Sunday.

Akron (6-0): The Zips won their sixth consecutive match to start the season on Friday as they squeaked by UIC 4-3. After being down 1-3 in the match, Madison Cohen, Shannon Newnes, and Ksenia Berestetska emerged victorious in singles to take the match for Akron. They will pack their bags this weekend as they face off against Penn on Friday and Saint Joseph’s on Saturday.