Last weekend, the UB men's tennis team captured its second Mid-American Conference win of the season, narrowly defeating the Toledo Rockets in Toledo 4-3.
This weekend with the stakes raised, the Bulls will have the chance to repeat their past success when they face the Rockets again at the 2004 Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis Championships hosted by Ball State University.
"We have the confidence we need of knowing that we have beaten these guys; we know we can do it," said junior Nick Zieziula. "Everyone is focused and we know that if we don't bring everything we have we're in trouble."
UB (8-11 overall, 2-3 MAC) enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed out of the six-team draw, while Toledo (9-10 overall, 0-3 MAC) sits at No. 5 and IPFW rounds out the bottom at No. 6.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Toledo was without their number one singles player, Khalid Al Nabhani, as he was called back to his home country to participate in the Davis Cup against Vietnam.
"We're in a unique position going into the tournament," said Zieziula. "We are seeded higher than the team we are playing for the first time, but I think everyone realizes that Toledo will be a different team with the return of their number one player."
UB head coach Russ Crispell will look to juniors Randy Rocchio and Zieziula to lead the way for Buffalo. Playing No. 1 and No. 2 singles for the Bulls, the tandem has been solid in their individual roles, owning a combined 36-31 overall record this season.
Strong performances are also expected from No. 3 singles player Mike Rockman and Josh Liederman at No. 4.
Western Michigan (17-6 overall, 5-0 MAC), currently ranked 61st in the nation, goes into the tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with an undefeated 5-0 record in the MAC. No. 1 singles player senior Ravi Pathanjali has been a solid performer for the Broncos all season.
No. 2 Ball State are the defending MAC champion and No. 3 Northern Illinois will be expected to challenge the Broncos.
On the women's side, the UB women's tennis team will head to Northern Illinois University, the site of the 2004 Mid-American Conference Women's Tennis Tournament.
UB, the No. 9 seed out of the ten-team field is pitted against No. 8 Toledo. UB head coach Kathy Twist will seek the leadership of number two singles player Kristen Ortman along with No. 5 singles player Lisa Wittman, both concrete players for the Bulls this season.
Marshall University enters the tournament as the top seed with a perfect 9-0 league record and is ranked 51st in the nation in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The Thundering Herd boasts a stellar line up, including the doubles team of Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh, currently ranked 28th in the nation.
Western Michigan earned the number two seed, with Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), and Ball State sitting at numbers three, four and five respectively. Rounding out the rest of the competition on the women's side, Northern Illinois holds down the number six seed, while Bowling Green earned the number seven spot, followed by Toledo at number eight and Akron at number ten.
The men's match between UB and Toledo is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, with the winner advancing to play Ball State on Friday. First serve in the women's match is set for 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
