The men’s tennis team (16-6, 8-2 Mid-American Conference) is officially at the top of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) table for the second year in a row.
Buffalo won its second straight MAC championship on Sunday, shutting out the Northern Illinois Salukis 4-0 in an incredible performance at the Miller Tennis Center in Amherst, NY.
Head coach Lee Nickell’s group set the tone early and never looked back. The Bulls started by winning two of the three doubles matches, which gave them the first point of the tournament and from that moment the rest of the day was all Buffalo.
Junior Onder Balci and junior Michael Malkin picked up the 6-2 win in doubles play. In the other doubles match, senior Theodoros Mitsakos and graduate student Clement Mainguy followed with a 6-3 to give the Bulls the first point of the day.
In singles play, senior Emiliano Jorquera made it 2-0 with a fast 6-2 and 6-1 win. Mainguy continued to play well and he added another point not long after, ultimately winning 6-1 and 6-4 to push the Bulls lead to 3-0.
With the MAC Championship on the line, senior Faiz Nasyam closed the historic title for the Bulls. He won both sets with a score of 6-2 to secure the final point, officially clinching the MAC title for the Bulls.
The Bulls dominated throughout the tournament, with firm control from the start. The Salukis never got a real chance to ever get back into the match.
This victory gives Buffalo back-to-back MAC Tournament championships for the first time in program history. This is another big step for a team that is quickly becoming the standard in the conference.
Right now, the men’s tennis isn’t just winning the MAC, they’re running it.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Mikaela Arnold
