Last weekend marked the end of the regular season for the men’s tennis team as they split the last two matches of the season.
Bradley matched up against Indiana State on Saturday, a team they had not beaten since 1989.
The Braves opened up the match by losing the doubles point, but quickly bounced back to win five singles victories ending the 18-match losing streak against the Sycamores.
Coach Jesse Plote said he was pleased with the team’s performance on Friday.
“This was a milestone for us since we haven’t beaten Indiana State in 20 years,” he said. “It changes our seed in the MVC tournament from the six to the five with a win.”
Junior Milos Romic defeated Josh Smith in hard fought battle at the No. 1 singles position with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 as they had to finish their match indoors because of inclement weather.
Junior Richard Robertson claimed a 4-6, 6-7, 7-5 win at No. 5 against Michael Wenham to set the final score at 5-2.
Junior Callen Fraychineuad won in straight sets in the No. 2 singles position.
Seniors Evgeny Samoylov and Michel Macara-chvili had mixed success as Samoylov beat Milos Pavlovic with a score of 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3, but Macara-chvili fell to Jon Sigurdsson in the fourth singles position.
Freshman Mitch Osborne cruised past Chris Finney, with a score 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 for the fifth Bradley singles win.
On Sunday, the Braves failed to close on their last home match of the season dropping all their matches against Southern Illinois.
This marked the last home match for seniors Macara-chvili and Samoylov.
Samoylov said he gained a lot of experience at Bradley which made him a better tennis player.
“I have definitely become a smarter tennis player over the past four years,” he said. “I was excited about this match, and I did my best in my match but had unlucky moments.”
Macara-chvili said he left everything on the court and will always have the memories of the past four years.
“It has been a great experience for me to be here,” he said. “I had great teammates, great coaches, and since we don’t have indoor courts in Peru, I will remember all my indoor games.”
Plote had nothing but praise for the two seniors.
“They are both a huge part of the program and have had four coaches in four years,” he said. “That really shows their dedication and I am glad that they finished strong this season.”
The Braves now look ahead as they prepare for the MVC tournament and Plote said the team needs to rest up.
“The team is a little beat up, because of illnesses and injuries, so we need to get healthy so we can play our best tennis,” he said.
The MVC tournament begins today in Omaha, Neb.