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Western Michigan
No. 67 Broncos defeat Bulls, 5-2, in Conference Action
3/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
WILLIAMSVILLE, NY -The Bulls were back in action on Sunday after defeating Binghamton on Friday, 5-4, when they hosted MAC rivals and No. 67 nationally ranked Western Michigan Broncos. It was a back and forth affair that saw many long rallies and tight games throughout the day. In the end Western defeated Buffalo, 5-2, behind strong all around play by their players.
Sergio Arevalillo rebounded from a tough doubles match with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 performance. He moves to 4-1 overall at third singles this season with the win. Arevalillo now sits 12th all-time in school history with 52 career singles wins.
Buffalo's other team point came from Pablo Alvarez in singles action. After dropping the first set 7-5, the Spaniard took control of the match by winning the second and third sets, 6-3, 6-4. Alvarez's career winning percentage is a team-best 56% and ranks t-17th in school history with Jonathan Hannestad.
First singles and fourth singles featured thrilling matches that went three sets. Akhil Mehta forced a third set with a 6-2 win in the second set. However, Mehta was unable to full control of the third set in fell, 6-4, in fourth singles.
Amar Hromic started singles play strongly with a 6-2 win. Yet, Jefta Kecic bounced back and battled hard as the second set progressed to win 6-4 before taking the third set 6-3. As a result at first singles, the Broncos earned their fourth team point and clinched the match.
Despite the loss, the Bulls rallied back from poor doubles play during singles play against No. 67 Western Michigan.
"We really played our worst doubles point of the season today, but rallied in singles," head coach Lee Nickell said after the team's 5-2 loss to No. 67 Broncos. "We had two courts with mental hiccups that cost us the match, but we will learn from this as we prepare for toledo in two weeks."
Western Michigan dealt Buffalo their first loss at home as the Bulls lost, 5-2. They move to 1-1 in MAC play and 8-5 overall. UB will remain at home for their next match on April 2 at 1:00 pm against Toledo.
Buffalo will play Western again at home on April 10.
Doubles
1. Amar Hromic/Pablo Alvarez (UB) vs. Daniel Loebel/Ruben Greiner (WMU), DNF
2. Matt Hamilton/Maik Steiner (WMU) def. Akhil Mehta/Tony Miller (UB), 6-1
3. Jefta Kecic/Jim Beckwith (WMU) def. Sergio Arevalillo/Ethan Nittolo (UB), 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
1. Jefta Kecic (WMU) def. Amar Hromic (UB), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Pablo Alvarez (UB) def. Maik Steiner (WMU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Sergio Arevalillo (UB) def. Matt Hamilton (WMU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Ruben Greiner (WMU) def. Akhil Mehta (UB) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
5. Matej Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Ethan Nittolo (UB) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Daniel Loebel (WMU) def. Tony Miller (UB) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 6, 5, 1, 4, 2
