Match #3
Western Michigan Broncos at Eastern Illinois
Friday, January 27 | 1 p.m.
Charleston, Ill. | Darling Courts
Match #4
Western Michigan Broncos at Indiana
Saturday, January 28 | 11 a.m.
Bloomington, Ind. | IU Indoor Tennis Center
THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHES
The Western Michigan women's tennis team will look to improve upon their 1-1 record when they travel to Charleston to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Friday at 1 p.m. It will be just the second time the teams have ever met; the Broncos hold the 1-0 advantage in the all-time series. After that, the Broncos will head to Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday at 11 a.m. It will be 28th meeting between the two teams.
BRONCOS BOUNCE BACK AT DETROIT
The Broncos opened their season with a tough match-up against the 10th-ranked team in the nation, the Michigan Wolverines; they bounced back in the second match of the year with a thorough shutout of the Detroit Titans in Livonia on Sunday night. The Broncos captured all five singles matches and both doubles matches on the evening for their first team victory of the season. In the process, Kathleen Hawkins picked up her first dual match singles win as a Bronco, and teamed with Nini Sujashvili to pick up her first dual match doubles win. Freshman Caroline Aleck also won her first dual doubles match, teaming with April Kerr.
CHASING 500
Western Michigan head coach Betsy Kuhle has already been inducted into the Western Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame, but the seven-time MAC Coach of the Year continues to set new milestones. With 490 career victories, Kuhle needs just 10 more wins to reach 500 wins in her career. Kuhle has more wins at Western Michigan than any other active coach, and ranks second all-time in wins by a Western Michigan coach.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS ON COURT, IN CLASSROOM
The Broncos' women's tennis program has two impressive streaks to hang its hat on, both of which highlight the excellence demanded both on the court and in the classroom. Under head coach Betsy Kuhle, the Broncos have won 11 total MAC championships and eight of the last 14; the Broncos have, amazingly, never finished lower than third in the final MAC standings under Kuhle. In addition, the Broncos have been recognized as 16-time ITA All-Academic Team honorees, winning the award every year since its inception in 1996.
DUAL MATCH FORMAT
Dual matches will be contests for the best-of-seven team points. The dual will begin with three doubles matches consisting of eight-game pro sets. The team that wins two of these three matches will enter the singles competition with one of seven points. After a brief intermission, six singles matches will be played. Each singles match will be the best of three tie-break sets and worth one point towards the team competition. The overall dual match will be decided when one team secures four total points. Matches in progress when the dual match is clinched will be played to completion.
