TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men's tennis team used a dominating team effort to defeat Western Michigan 4-1 in the championship match of the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament in front of a large home crowd at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts on Sunday afternoon to claim its second consecutive tournament crown.

It was only fitting that senior Pawit Sornlaksup clinched match point for the Rockets in his 6-4, 6-2 victory on the No. 1 court. With the Rockets holding a 3-1 edge, Sornlaksup watched as Western Michigan's Benjamin George's final shot went deep, then dropped to the court in exaltation as his teammates ran on the court and swarmed him in celebration. It was a repeat of the 2023 matchup  when Sornlaksup scored the clinching point vs. the Broncos in a 4-3 victory.

"I'm very happy for the guys," head coach Al Wermer said. "If you're into coaching, that's what it's all about, the guys you work with every day. It's incredible.

"We just kept saying that it will be a rough ride, that Western is not going to give up. We knew it was going to be a fistfight for three or four hours. We had to be resilient. We talked a lot about keep bouncing back, keep bouncing back. I think they were good listeners."

It was the second tournament title for Wermer and the ninth in program history. With the win, Toledo (14-10, 7-3) earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Rockets will learn their first-round opponent and location when the NCAA Selection Show airs on Monday, April 29.

Wermer praised Sornlaksup's leadership in guiding the Rockets throughout this season and his three-year career.

"Pawit has been such a great leader," Wermer added. "His leadership skills just continued to develop. He's very modest and humble, but he sets the tone that spreads to the rest of the team."

Unlike last season's match which went right down to the wire, Toledo was solidly in control of the match almost from the start. The Rockets secured the double-point and a 1-0 match lead thanks to victories by No. 3 combo of senior Adam Kovac and freshman Charlie Snow and the No.1 pairing of Sornlaksup and senior Marko Galic.

Western Michigan did tie the match 1-1 with the first singles victory of the afternoon, a two-set sweep of the No. 4 court. But freshman Poonthong Komolpisut put Toledo back in front with his two-setter over Matej Kajzer from the No. 5 court, and sophomore Matias Olivero put his team at match point after defeating Dimitri Moriarty in two sets at the bottom court.

Sornlaksup and George went back and forth for the majority of the first set before Sornalskup asserted himself to take the 6-4 win. He had less trouble in the second set, finishing off George 6-2 and setting off Toledo's celebration.

At the end of the match, junior Hanamichi Carvajal and Sornlaksup were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, and Sornlaksup was named MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.

MAC Championship Final
No.3 Toledo 4, No.1 Western Michigan 1
Singles
1. #77 Pawit Sornlaksup (TOL) def. Benjamin George (WMU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Marko Galic (TOL) vs. Anton Arzhankin (WMU) 4-6, 2-5 unfinished
3. Hanamichi Carvajal (TOL) vs. Jackson Boone (WMU) 6-4, 3-6, 3-3 unfinished
4. Ashton Adesoro (WMU) def. Cole Cozens (TOL) 6-1, 6-0
5. Poonthong Komolpisut (TOL) def. Matej Kajzer (WMU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Matias Olivero (TOL) def. Dimitri Moriarty (WMU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. Pawit Sornlaksup/ Marko Galic (TOL) vs. Anton Arzhankin/ Jackson Boone (WMU) 5-4, unfinished
2. Hanamichi Carvajal/ Poonthong Komolpisut (TOL) def. Drew Evans/ Benjamin George (WMU) 6-2
3. Adam Kovac/ Charlie Snow (TOL) def. Ashton Adesoro/ Ferdinand Schlueter (WMU) 6-4
 
MAC Tournament MVP – Pawit Sornlaksup, Toledo

MAC All-Tournament Team
Jacks Lancaster – Ball State
Mikael Vollbeach – Northern Illinois
Hanamichi Carvajal – Toledo
Pawit Sornlaksup – Toledo
Anton Arzhankin – Western Michigan   
Ashton Adesoro – Western Michigan