The men's tennis team faced a difficult start to its conference schedule when the squad hit the road this weekend. The Bulls traveled west to face Western Michigan (16-8, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) and Toledo (18-8, 0-2 MAC).
The Bulls (8-6, 2-0 MAC) had never defeated the Broncos in Kalamazoo - until this weekend. Buffalo also defeated Toledo to sweep the weekend.
The Bulls held their ground against two very good league opponents even after having dropped their last three matches.
"It feels unbelievable," said head coach Lee Nickell.
In the first match of the weekend, the Bulls faced the Broncos, who were riding an eight-game winning streak. Western Michigan, preseason MAC favorites, fell to the Bulls 4-3 after losing the doubles point and then dropping three singles points.
UB senior Vusa Hove and junior Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik clinched the doubles point8-5 after sophomore Sebastian Ionescu and freshman Akhil Mehta earned the first doubles point, 8-3.
With the doubles point secured, the Bulls needed to win three singles points to clinch the match. Sophomore Damien David and freshman Pablo Alvarez won their singles points, paving the way for Ionescu to clinch the win for the Bulls with a 2-1 victory.
"Anybody on this team can rise to the occasion," Nickell said. "We have five newcomers on the team and, at any given time, there will be pressure on them."
Nickell said his team will have to mature greatly to be successful, and so far the Bulls have been on the right track.
In the second match of the weekend, the team faced Toledo in Ohio. The Bulls defeated the Rockets 4-3 with all of their points coming in singles matches.
This time, it was the newcomers on the team who rose to the occasion.
Losing the doubles point gave the Bulls an early disadvantage, but freshmen Sergio Arevalillo and Ashwin Sharma showed every player on the team is capable of coming through in the clutch.
Sharma dominated two straight sets to set the tone and Arevalillo won in three sets to clinch the victory. Hove and David also won points in singles play to help the team capture the win and move to 2-0 in the MAC.
The Bulls' tough non-conference schedule has helped them in conference play.
"When playing the Ivy League, we feel like we've been playing just a little bit above our level," Nickell said. "So when we enter MAC competition, we are well prepared."
The two emotional matches on the road have taken a toll on the Bulls.
"We just played two very long and tough road matches," Nickell said. "I'm going to give them a couple days to rest and regroup, and we'll be back at it later this week."
The Bulls will play their final four matches of the season at home. Their next one will come Friday at 9 a.m., as they look to continue their winning streak.
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
