Broncos Conquer Duquesne, Face Defeat Against Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Western Michigan men’s tennis squad commenced its Spring Season with a split double-header at Notre Dame on Sunday, triumphing over Duquense 7-0 before succumbing to the Fighting Irish 6-1.

DUQUENSE MATCH 

Western Michigan quickly seized a 1-0 advantage by securing the doubles point. The nationally ranked duo Brogan Pierce and Jack Davison overcame Keita Duclos and Uvan Patel with a score of 6-1 at No. 1. Anton Arzhankin and Drew Evans bested Teo Papadopoulos and Trancredi Alfano 6-1. In the third position, sophomore Ashton Adesoro and freshman Oscar Corwin secured a 6-2 victory against Enqrique Lana and Pierce Manning.

All six Broncos emerged victorious in their singles matches, each in straight sets. Arzhankin achieved a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 1 against Duclos. Pierce, positioned at No. 2, took down Lana 6-1, 6-1. Corwin conquered Patel 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 while his classmate Davison triumphed 6-1, 6-3 over Chris Cianciotti at No. 4. Freshman Alex Antonopoulos played at No. 5, defeating Papadopoulos 6-3, 6-1, while sophomore Matej Kajzer won against Manning at No. 6 with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

NOTRE DAME MATCH 

The Fighting Irish obtained the doubles point with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 and a 6-1 triumph at No. 2. Adesoro and Corwin were leading 4-3 against UND’s Jameson Corsillo and Yu Zhang when their contest was called off.

In the singles encounters, Adesoro was the only Bronco to secure a point. Competing at No. 2, he earned a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Zhang. Pierce faced Chase Thompson at No. 3, where he lost the first set 6-4 but triumphed in the second, winning a tie-breaker 7-6 (9-7). In the deciding set, Thompson prevailed 10-6.

Western Michigan will return home for two matches on Friday. WMU will commence the day facing Marquette at 10 a.m. and subsequently compete against Ferris State at 6 p.m. Both encounters will take place at West Hills Athletic Club with free admission. On Sunday, the Broncos will head to East Lansing to confront the Spartans at 5 p.m.