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Men’s tennis falls in back-to-back 0-7 decisions

The men’s tennis team struggled last weekend against I-74 rival Illinois State and a strong Wichita State team, dropping every match played.
On Friday the Braves matched up against the Redbirds and could not produce a victory.
Bradley dropped the first doubles point when the pair of juniors Milos Romic and Callen Fraychineaud battled against the Redbirds Filip Miljevic and Skip Span who gained an 8-5 victory at the No.1 doubles position.
Senior Michel Macara-chivili and freshman Mitch Osborne could not fend off Xavier Riart-Ferrer and Daniel Tobar, losing by a score of 9-7.
Sophomore Trevor McGrath and junior Rich Robertson also failed to gain a win, dropping their doubles match at the No. 3 position.
In singles play, all players lost their respective matches in every position. 
Romic was the only player who extended his match to a tie-breaker round. He lost the first set by a score of 6-1 but battled back in the second set, winning 6-4. Romic forced the tie-breaker but eventually was defeated by a score of 10-5.
Romic said he was disappointed with the loss.
“I started off really slow in the first set but I came back in the second set,” he said. “In the tie breaker, I was trying to limit my mistakes but it just didn’t happen.”
On Saturday, the Braves squared off against Wichita State indoors because of inclement weather, and their woes continued.
Bradley was unable to obtain a win against the Shockers.
The Braves struggled in the doubles matches and could not rival the intensity of Wichita State in singles matches as well.
Coach Jesse Plote said there were some opportunities the team did not take advantage of.
“The two teams we faced are two of the respected teams in the conference,” he said. “We are definitely struggling as a team right now as well as fighting off some injuries, so we are still trying to find our best tennis.”
Plote also said it was nice to see a good size crowd when the team played outside on Friday.
“There were about 50 people at the match on Friday,” he said. “It is nice to see that we are getting support from fans and that is a boost for the team.”
The Braves will be back in action next weekend when they embark on a two-match road trip, taking on league rivals Creighton and Drake in Omaha, Neb.
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