By: Isabel Smith ~Staff Writer~

The Xavier men’s tennis team headed to Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sept. 26 to compete in the Jack Vredevelt Invitational, a three-day tournament hosted by the Western Michigan University Broncos.

The Musketeers entered the tournament with a standing record of 27-26 in singles competition and 9-7 in doubles competition.

The Musketeers gained several wins in doubles play on the opening day.

Freshman Connor LaFavre and sophomore Jeremy Schneider finished with a 1-2 record.
The two defeated a duo from Illinois State in an exciting consolation match 8-7.
Freshman Gabriel Chaves Araujo and junior Zach Mueck earned two wins in Flight B on the first day, ending with a 2-1 record.

They lost the first match but came back with impressive victories over their next two opponents.

In Flight C, senior Michael Moe and freshman Arthur Stefani gained two wins, beating Cleveland State 8-6 and the host team, Western Michigan, 8-3.

Redshirt sophomore Matt Bishop and junior Brian Carman closed out the day with wins over Michigan State 8-5 and Cleveland State 8-5.

The second day of tournament play featured two rounds of singles play.

The Musketeers showed true talent and skill with two players advancing to the Flight championships. Araujo earned his spot in the championship match after a successful tournament.
Senior Freddy Abunku also grabbed his spot in the Flight Championships with impressive wins in the opening rounds.

Abunku and Araujo were runners-up in their Flight Championship when they lost to tough opponents from Wisconsin-Green Bay and Notre Dame.

Abunku has been a strong leader on this year’s team. He is a senior leader that not only sets the precendent on the court, but off the court as well.

Day two of play also featured success by Moe, LaFavre, Bishop and Carman. Each Musketeer shut down his competitor

Xavier men’s tennis ended action on the final day of play with two wins in singles competition.
Stefani defeated Lucas Waak of Valparaiso in his Flight Consolation match 6-2, 6-2.

Moe also won his Consolation match in two sets against Stephen Payne of Western Michigan, 6-2, 6-4.
The Musketeers concluded the Jack Vredevelt Invite tallying a record of 36-42 in singles play and 15-14 in doubles.

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams will next compete on Oct. 16-19 in the Ohio Valley Regional Tournament in Nashville.

This tournament precedes the head-to head portion of the season, which begins Jan. 21 for the men and Jan. 23 for the women.