Bulls Upset Nationally-Ranked Western Michigan, 4-3
Men's tennis team defeats defending MAC
champions for first time in school history
Vusa Hove
BUFFALO, NY – For the first time in school history,
the University at Buffalo men's tennis team defeated four-time
defending Mid-American Conference champion Western Michigan on Saturday
afternoon at the University Tennis Center. A third-set victory at fifth
singles propelled the Bulls to a 4-3 win over the Broncos, ranked 74th
in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Freshman Vusa
Hove scored the winning point in the number five singles match as
he rallied from a set down to defeat Casey Cullen, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.
Alex Kalinin
The pumped-up Bulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead before withstanding a
Western Michigan comeback attempt and 30 mph crosswinds in the final
hour of the four-hour contest. Prior to Hove's win, UB got straight-set
singles victories from Alex
Kalinin at number six and George
Tibil at number four. The final four matches of the day all went to
third sets with Western Michigan (16-7, 1-1 MAC) taking the top three
matches on the singles ladder before Hove closed the door.
The Bulls (9-4, 2-0 MAC) captured the doubles point with a 7-3
tiebreaker win in the number one match as Kirill
Kolomyts and Marcelo
Mazzetto defeated WMU's brother combo of Thomas and Michael
Calderone. UB's number two team of Wojciech
Starakiewicz and Tibil also scored a win for the Bulls with an 8-4
victory over Kazuya Komada and Zevad Montasser.
George Tibil
"This was intense," said UB head coach Lee Nickell. "In terms of
college matches, this had everything, lead changes, momentum swings and
for us to come out on top is a major step for the team. I'm very proud
of the way we battled out there and am happy for our seniors Kirill
Kolomyts and Eric
Rothstein."
Not only was the UB win a first for the Bulls in 15 previous
meetings with the Broncos it also marked the first time since 2006 that
Western Michigan had been defeated in Mid-American Conference play. UB
also extended its winning streak to five matches and remained perfect
at home, winning all five contests in Buffalo.
The Bulls return to the University Tennis Center on Easter Sunday
for a nonleague contest with regional rival Binghamton at 3:30 pm.
Buffalo 4, No. 74 Western Michigan 3 Doubles
1 Kirill Kolomyts/Marcelo Mazzetto (UB) d. Thomas Calderone/Michael
Calderone (WMU), 9-8 (3)
2 Wojciech Starakiewicz/George Tibil (UB) d. Kazuya Komada/Zevad
Montasser (WMU), 8-4
3 Casey Cullen/Pablo Olivarez (WMU) d. Vusa Hove/Mitch Zenaty (UB), 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1 Singles
1 Kazuya Komada (WMU) d. Wojciech Starakiewicz (UB), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
2 Michael Calderone (WMU) d. Marcelo Mazzetto (UB), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1
3 Pablo Olivarez (WMU) d. Kirill Kolomyts (UB), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4 George Tibil (UB) d. Simon Blomberg (WMU), 6-3, 7-5
5 Vusa Hove (UB) d. Casey Cullen (WMU), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
6 Alex Kalinin (UB) d. Brad Noel (WMU), 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 4, 2, 1, 3, 5
