MAC Men's Tennis Semifinals Conclude

BUFFALO, NY – The Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis Tournament semifinals were decided on Friday with top seeds Western Michigan and Toledo earning 4-2 victories to advance to Saturday's conference finals at the University Tennis Club on the campus of the University at Buffalo.

In Friday's opening match, Western Michigan, the tournament's number one seed, rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat fourth-seeded Ball State, 4-2. The Broncos (17-8) took the opening doubles point with victories in the number one and three matches. The Cardinals (12-12) flew back to grab a 2-1 lead as they won the number five and six matches. However, wins by WMU's Michael Calderone, in straight sets at number two, and three-set victories by Kevin Hayward, at number one and Kazuya Komada, at number three, gave the Broncos a slot in Saturday's final.

Second-seeded Toledo (18-10) jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the doubles with easy wins in the first and third matches over third-seeded Northern Illinois (7-9). The Rockets moved into the finals with three wins in the five completed singles matches. Jared Miller, at number one, Sven Burus, at number two, and Aleksander Elezovic, at number four, earned straight set victories for the Rockets.

Saturday's final is slated for 1:00 pm at the University Tennis Club. If play is forced indoors due to weather, the Village Glen Tennis Center will serve as the host site.

No. 1 Western Michigan 4, No. 4 Ball State 2
Doubles
1. Michael Calderone/Kazuya Komada (WMU) d. Jose Perdomo/Zane Smith (BSU), 8-5
2. Eduardo Pavia/Andres Monroy (BSU) led Zevad Montasser/Kevin Hayward (WMU), 7-6 DNF
3. Pablo Olivarez/Casey Cullen (WMU) d. Jorge Rodriguez/Derek Carpenter (BSU), 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, --
Singles
1. Kevin Hayward (WMU) d. Eduardo Pavia (BSU), 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-2
2. Michael Calderone (WMU) d. Jose Perdomo (BSU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Kazuya Komada (WMU) d. Cliff Morrison (BSU), 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
4. Casey Cullen (WMU) led Andres Monroy (BSU), 6-4, 4-6, 5-4 DNF
5. Jorge Rodriguez (BSU) d. Zevad Montasser (WMU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Shaun Bussert (BSU) d. Pablo Olivarez (WMU), 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2, 1, 3

No. 2 Toledo 4, No. 3 Northern Illinois 2
Doubles
1. Jared Miller/Knot Likitkumchorn (UT) d. Pawel Poziomski/Jimmy Chu (NIU), 8-2
2. Sven Burus/Robbie McCallum (UT) tied Jurica Grubisic/Shaun Stewart (NIU), 4-4 DNF
3. Aleksander Elezovic/Levi Bent-Lee (UT) d. Javier Bernabe/Ross VanderPloeg (NIU), 8-1
Order of finish: 1, 3, --
Singles
1. Jared Miller (UT) d. Pawel Poziomski (NIU), 6-0, 7-5
2. Jurica Grubisic (NIU) d. Knot Likitkumchorn (UT), 6-2, 6-2
3. Sven Burus (UT) d. Shaun Stewart (NIU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Aleksander Elezovic (UT) d. Javier Bernabe (NIU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Jayson Miller (UT) led Jimmy Chu (NIU), 4-6, 6-2, 5-0 DNF
6. Ross VanderPloeg (NIU) d. Gursher Harika (UT), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, --