Junior Pawit Sornlaksup clinched match point in a dramatic 7-5, 7-6(3) victory from the No. 1 court to help the Toledo men’s tennis team capture its first Mid-American Conference Tournament title for the first time since 1973. The Rockets took down Western Michigan in a nail-biting 4-3 decision on Sunday at the West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich.
This is the first tournament title for Al Wermer since becoming Toledo’s head coach in 1996. With the victory, the Rockets earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship Tournament. Toledo will learn who their first-round opponent will be when the NCAA Selection Show airs on Monday, May 1.
With the victory, the Rockets earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship Tournament. Toledo will learn who their first-round opponent will be when the NCAA Selection Show airs May 1.
“Each challenge we’ve had since last fall has prepared us for this,” said Wermer, whose team now has a nine-match winning streak heading into the NCAAs. “These guys are not surprised we won. They’re exceptionally close-knit and mobilized for the common cause. See you at the NCAA Championship.”
Toledo (18-5, 8-2 MAC) took a critical 1-0 match lead by winning the doubles point, capturing the No. 1 and No. 2 courts by 7-6 decisions. Sornlaksup and Krzysztof Wetoszka won at the No. 1 court, while Marko Galic and Adam Kovac grabbed the victory at the No. 2 court.
Western Michigan tied the match at 1-1 after winning the No. 3 singles match and then took the lead with the victory from the No. 4 court. Matias Olivero tied the match at 2-2 with his two-set victory at No. 5. Luis Kleinschnitz then put Toledo back in the lead 3-2 after winning the No. 6 court. WMU’s Anton Arzhankin tied the match on the No. 2 court to set up the thrilling finale between Sornlaksup and WMU’s Benjamin George on the lead court.
Sornlaksup trailed 5-3 in his first set before rallying to win 7-5. The second set went to a tie-breaker, and after Sornlaksup won back-to-back points to clinch the match, his teammates rushed the court and lifted him into the air in a joyous celebration. Sornlaksup’s clutch victory extended his winning streak to 42-straight matches.
At the conclusion of the match, Wetoszka and Sornalskup were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, and Sornlaksup was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
