Men’s tennis clinches MAC title

By Adam Bouton
Western Herald

Even a bloody nose halfway during the first set couldn’t prevent sophomore Michael Calderone from rolling to a straight sets victory.

Calderone said that the bloody nose helped calm him down and propel him to the win.

“I think it relaxed me a little bit,” he said following the conclusion of the match.  “I was playing a little bit tight and foggy and it kind of just relaxed me.”

Calderone’s victory was the spitting image of several Bronco victories on the afternoon.  The Western Michigan University men’s tennis team (16-8, 5-0 MAC) rolled to a 6-1 victory over the University of Toledo on Sunday afternoon at West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo to clinch sole possession of the Mid-American Conference regular season title.

The Broncos took all three doubles matches to earn the early point.  Calderone and doubles partner Kazuya Komada won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.  Senior Kevin Hayward and redshirt freshman Zeyad
Montasser took home the victory at No. 2 doubles, 8-5.  Sophomore Casey Cullen and freshman Pablo Olivarez also notched the victory at No. 3 doubles by the score of 8-4.

Bronco head coach Dave Morin said that earning the doubles victory is key heading into the singles matches.

“The doubles really set the tone,” Morin said.  “We carried that momentum into the singles.  The guys did a great job of staying focused.”

Calderone steamrolled Toldeo sophomore Sven Sven Burus 6-4, 6-2 to pick up the second point for the Broncos on the afternoon.

After his final point, Calderone immediately yelled, “Let’s go Broncos!”

He was trying to inspire his teammates along, something that he always aims for.  He likes taking to the role of cheerleader, following his victory.

“I want to get off the court so I can help the other guys,” Calderone said.

Hayward followed Calderone’s victory to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead.  At No. 1 singles, Hayward blew past Jared Miller 6-1, 6-3.  Montasser then finished shortly thereafter to clinch the match and the MAC title for WMU.  Montasser beat Rocket sophomore Gursher Harika 6-2, 6-4.

Bronco sophomore Komada played consistently at No. 2 singles overcoming the emotional Nutthavit Likitkumchorn 6-2, 6-4.

Olivarez rounded out the wins for the Broncos, beating Toledo’s Jayson Miller 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).

Cullen dropped the lone match for WMU at No. 4 singles.  The sophomore fought but fell to Toledo sophomore Aleksandar Elezovic 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8).

Western Michigan wrapped up another season with a perfect conference record.  It is something that is important to Calderone and the other Bronco players.

“You take pride in the legacy set by the players who were here before us,” Calderone said.  “They kind of hand it to you.”

The Broncos have just one week before the MAC Tournament which takes place starting April 23 in Buffalo, N.Y.  The Brown and Gold have captured the No. 1 seed for the tournament and are the clear favorites as defending champs.

Both Morin and Calderone are focused on that task at hand.

“We’re going to have to do the same thing, play the same way we played today,” Morin said.  “There are no guarantees that we’ll win it, but this [today] is the brand of tennis we need to play.”

“We need to rest up,” Calderone added.  “We’re going to enjoy the regular season MAC Championship and go in with a clear mindset that we need to take it.  We need to go in there with a little bit of an attitude.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 20 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com