Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo men's tennis team (3-10) fell 6-1 today to Western Michigan (12-4) at home in Toledo to open Mid-American Conference play.
 
"We saw some good things today during doubles play, Vince [Anzalone] played well, and I think our attitudes were good," head coach Al Wermer said after the match. "Some of the guys were nervous but we just have to work through it."
 
The Rockets had some mid-set rallies that looked promising, but couldn't close out their matches the way they wanted. Wermer noted that when the match isn't going as planned, it's important not to lose focus.
 
"Sometimes as a coach you need to be a cheerleader, and sometimes you need to be more aggressive with them, but that doesn't always work," Wermer said. "The best thing is to get through their emotions and try to get them to focus on their tactics."
 
Toledo's point came from junior Vince Anzalone in the No. 2 singles spot. Anzalone found himself down in a tiebreak after his first set, but managed to rally back and win 7-6(4). The Willoughby Hills, Ohio, native continued to play hard in the second set and walked away with a 6-3 victory.
 
UT returns to the court on Sunday for the second conference match of the season. The Rockets are set to take on Buffalo at 2:00 p.m. at the UT varsity tennis courts.

Western Michigan 6, Toledo 1
Singles competition
1. Maik Steiner (WMU) def. Luka Vitosevic (UT) 6-2, 6-3
2. Vince Anzalone (UT) def. Kennosuke Nouchi (WMU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
3. Jannik Opitz (WMU) def. Thawin Suksathaporn (UT) 6-0, 6-2
4. Lenhard Haupt (WMU) def. Danilo Vukotic (UT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Eric Olivarez (WMU) def. Serjen Olmedo (UT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Matej Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Reid Teatsorth (UT) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Luka Vitosevic/Danilo Vukotic (UT) vs. Jannik Opitz/Kennosuke Nouchi (WMU) unfinished
2. Maik Steiner/Lenhard Haupt (WMU) def. Vince Anzalone/Thawin Suksathaporn (UT) 6-2
3. Eric Olivarez/Nick Schnobel (WMU) def. Juan Carranza/Serjen Olmedo (UT) 6-3