With three Mid-American Conference match victories this season, the UB men's tennis team produced its best results since joining Division I competition.
The team's outdoor season will come to an end at the MAC Championships this week, held in Kalamazoo, Mich. After a tremendous season, the Bulls attained the number three seed out of six teams at this year's MAC tourney.
"In terms of going into the tournament as the higher seed in the first round we have two things going for us, we were in the same position last year and we handled it well then and we have learned from years at the bottom of the MAC to respect MAC schools," said senior co-captain Nick Zieziula.
The Bulls will kick off their first-round match on Friday, facing Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) who the Bulls beat just two weeks ago, as Buffalo beat the Mastodons decisively, taking five out of the six singles matches.
"I wouldn't call our earlier win against IPFW as an easy win. We won convincingly and I am confident in our guys," said Ziezula. "We learned from that match that they are a team with real threats. It wasn't long ago when we were the team gunning for the upset, and we remember how easily it is to get fired up when you are the underdog."
The team spent the last two weeks preparing for the MAC tournament and though practicing and getting ready for tennis tournaments is nothing new for the Bulls, it was more than just routine for the players.
"For the MAC tournament we just practice like usual but the intensity was more than usual since this is the first time we earned the third seed," said UB's number three singles player Yules Hadisubroto.
As UB's new record holder, owning the most D-I victories in the history of UB men's tennis, Zieziula is looking forward to his last MAC Championships after the ups and downs of this season.
"In September I was predicting that this would be our best year ever in the MAC, but if you would have asked me if I was sticking to that prediction in January after some of the setbacks that we had in the fall, I might have kept my mouth shut," said Zieziula. "I think that after we set our expectations and goals high in the fall, we didn't look up to see how much farther we had to go, we just kept our heads down and kept pushing."
The MAC Championships will serve as another chance for Zieziula to improve his record, as well as for UB's senior class to have a memorable experience in their final campaign.
In addition to Zieziula, there were a handful of players that contributed to the Bulls' outstanding season, including Mike Rockman and Hadisubroto.
The Canadian-born Rockman recently broke Zieziula's record for the most wins in a single season since UB joined Division I men's tennis and in addition to Rockman, the Bulls will also need Hadisubroto's efforts, as he has scored three victories out of his five MAC matches this spring.
"When the spring season started, my confidence level was very low because I lost many matches in the fall. But slowly I gained my confidence back and I can play my best tennis with high confidence level," said Hadisubroto.
Another headliner for the Bulls this season was Queens native Josh Liederman, who had a come-from-behind victory in the deciding singles match against Toledo earlier this year.
Strong throughout the season at the bottom of their singles lineup this season, the Bulls will rely on Matt Kennedy and Albert Alant to run away with victories at both No. 5 and No. 6 singles.
The top team at the MAC Championships is Ball State University, sporting a spotless 5-0 record in the MAC this season. Close behind in second place is Western Michigan with a MAC record of 4-1. If the Bulls beat IPFW on Thursday, UB will face the Broncos in second round play.
"The idea was that we wanted to peak in the tournament and ride momentum through to the finals for a shot at nationals," said Zieziula. "We've played well enough to earn the three seed, but more importantly we're ready to play up at the next level and keep the threat of the three seed alive."
The 2005 MAC Championships are scheduled to begin on Thursday morning, with UB's match against IPFW set for 10 a.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
