Broncos Claim MAC Title With Shutout

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Western Michigan men's tennis team won its ninth Mid-American Conference tournament championship and 31st overall on Saturday, as the Broncos defeated the Buffalo Bulls 4-0 in the finals of the 2012 MAC Tournament, hosted by Toledo. The win also represents the ninth tournament championship for head coach Dave Morin and 16th total conference championship.

Sophomore Nadin Indre was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, going 5-0 over the course of the weekend and clinching the Broncos' win against Northern Illinois in the semifinals.

The Broncos improve to 17-11 on the season and will enter the 2012 NCAA Tournament First Round on a six-match winning streak.

"We really jumped on those guys early in singles and never really gave them the chance to breathe," said Morin. "It was a total team effort to hold on for the win."

Senior captain Pablo Olivarez won the decisive match for the Broncos, picking up a break late in the second set to take control. Olivarez held a one-set advantage over Wojciech Starakiewicz in the No. 3 singles match, but found himself tied at 4-4 in the second set. Olivarez broke Starakiewicz to take the 5-4 lead, and served the set out for the match win.

The singles wins for the Broncos fell like dominoes, as the Broncos took wins in the Nos. 1 and 4 singles matches in rapid succession. Indre took a quick lead on Damien David in the No. 1 match, sending his opponent back and forth across the court in notching a 6-4, 6-2 lead to establish a 2-0 lead for the Broncos.

Not long after Indre's victory, Ross VanderPloeg completed his strong showing in singles play, defeating Ivan Vereshchaga 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 4 match to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead. It was the second win of the day for VanderPloeg, who teamed with Simon Blomberg to beat Vereshchaga and Alex Kalinin 8-3 in the No. 3 doubles match.

Blomberg and VanderPloeg, in fact, were the first doubles pairing off the court, giving the Broncos an early edge in the doubles session. After the Bulls took the No. 2 doubles match against Aaron Wong and Pablo Olivarez, the No. 1 doubles team of Indre and Montasser finished the job with a win in a tight contest, beating Starakiewicz and Vusa Hove 8-4.

Doubles
1. Zeyad Montasser/Nadin Indre (WMU) def. Wojciech Starakiewicz/Vusa Hove (UB), 8-4
2. Damien David/Travis Zappia (UB) def. Pablo Olivarez/Aaron Wong (WMU), 8-5
3. Ross Vanderploeg/Simone Blomberg (WMU) def. Alex Kalinin/Ivan Vereshchaga (UB), 8-3

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. Nadin Indre (WMU) def. Damien David (UB), 6-4, 6-2
2. Vusa Hove (UB) led Zeyad Montasser (WMU), 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
3. Pablo Olivarez (WMU) def. Wojciech Starakiewicz (UB), 6-2, 6-4
4. Ross Vanderploeg (WMU) def. Ivan Vereshchaga (UB), 6-4, 6-4
5. Simon Blomberg (WMU) led Alex Kalinin (UB), 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
6. Jason Simon (UB) led Aaron Wong (WMU), 6-3, 2-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3


All-Tournament Team
Ray Leonard, Ball State
Maksym Bartiuk, Northern Illinois
Vusa Hove, Buffalo
Alex Kalinin, Buffalo
Nadin Indre, Western Michigan
Zeyad Montasser, Western Michigan

Most Outstanding Player
Nadin Indre, Western Michigan