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UB Men's Tennis enters must-win weekend

By Matt Gritzmacher
UB Athletics

Not a whole lot has changed in the MAC since we last talked about Men's Tennis, and what has has mostly been good. Thanks to a few "upsets," UB's two remaining matches are against the current top two teams in the conference standings.

Northern Illinois 3 - 1 @ Buffalo
Ball State 2 - 1 @ Buffalo, @ Binghamton
Western Michigan 2 - 2 Toledo
Binghamton 2 - 2 Ball State
Buffalo 1 - 2 Ball State, NIU
Toledo 1 - 3 @ WMU

Almost anything is still a possibility - I don't know the tiebreakers in-and-out, but I don't really care to bother someone to learn them right now - except for Toledo winning the conference's #1 seed. The simplest way to put it is that Buffalo, as least with regards to the conference tournament, controls their own destiny. I'd like to say they can guarantee more than that with two wins, but there's a possibility that four teams finish at 3-2, and that's just nonsense.

Anyway, the Bulls are coming off their first win in a long time, a narrow 4-3 road win over Toledo. Once again UB got no points from #1 or #2 singles. If Pablo Alvarez and Damien David can pull some wins together this weekend, Buffalo should be in great shape given the way the depth is playing.

As I've said a few times before now, the goal is simply to make it in. UB only needs to win two once they get there, and last season is proof that it's possible from the #4 seed. This weekend's pair of home matches are absolutely critical to that end, and the team is pulling out all the stops to gain as much of a home court advantage as possible.

They're making a big push, and while this is probably a little late for today's 1:00 PM match unless you're on campus right now, Sunday's match will be just as critical as well, regardless of today's outcome. Consider making your way over then, as well.

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UPDATE: UB won today 4-3, which sets them up for a win-and-in situation on Sunday. The other 2-2 teams (Ball State and Binghamton) are facing off as well, so if UB wins the loser of that match will be out and the four tournament teams will all be 3-2 in conference.

If UB loses, they're in with a Ball State win over Bingo and out with a Bingo win.

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Go Bulls

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