Story by Mitch Blankespoor
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's tennis team clinched a berth to its 39th consecutive NCAA III Men's Tennis Championship with a 5-0 sweep of Hope College in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament finals Friday, May 2.
"We are the only Division III team to make the NCAA Tournament every single year," Kalamazoo Head Coach Mark Riley said. "It feels good to keep that going."
Senior Alan Faber and freshman Branden Metzler started K off on a positive note winning second doubles 8-2 over Trevor Brogan and Collin McKey. Senior Mike Korn and junior David DeSimone took third doubles 8-4 while senior Peter Rothstein and sophomore Robert Hudson needed nine games to take down the Hope team of Parker Bussies and Matt Culver 9-7 at first doubles.
"We played good doubles for the second day in a row," said Riley. "We have been working on doubles really hard over the past couple years. It was nice to see the seniors step up and play well in their final home match."
In singles, Rothstein defeated Cody Herbruck 6-1, 6-0 at second singles. Korn clinched the match for Kalamazoo at third singles beating Brogan 6-1, 6-3. Because of the match being played to decision, first, fourth, fifth, and sixth singles were unfinished.
At the match's conclusion, Metzler was named MIAA Most Valuable Player as well as earning a spot on the All-MIAA First Team. Rothstein and DeSimone also earned spots on the All-MIAA First Team while Korn was named to the All-MIAA Second Team.
With the win, Riley earned his 300th career coaching victory. Riley earned these victories at Drake (Iowa), Kansas, Penn, and Kalamazoo.
"When you are around great players and great people, you can win a lot of matches," Riley commented.
Kalamazoo improves to 12-8 on the season with the win. The Hornets will wait for the NCAA to announce the field for its men's tennis championship to see where and who they will play next.