GALESBURG, Ill.- The Western Illinois men's tennis team won The Summit League regular season championship by rallying for a 4-3 win over Oral Roberts, capping off an 4-0 record at the conference cluster.

"I'm really proud of these guys for battling back," said Western Illinois head coach Michael Hunt. "This team has a lot of fight in them and it showed today. Now its time to start prepping for the league tournament."

The Leathernecks (13-5, 6-0 Summit League) increased its winning streak to nine with a 4-3 win over Golden Eagles (5-9, 5-1 Summit League). Playing the singles matches first, Western fell behind 3-1 to the defending conference champions after only junior Sean Ragee-Nelson won out of the first four matches. The Decatur, Ill., native defeated Clemons Geercken at the No. 5 singles position, 6-3, 6-4.

Senior Martin Boström and junior Andy Jones won at No. 2 and No. 6 singles, respectively, to level the match at 3-3. Boström defeated Alexander Dargel, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), while Jones beat Dario Beslic, 6-3, 7-6 (8).

The match then turned to doubles play to determine the conference regular season championship. Junior Michael Schild and Michael Tiu got Western off to a good start with an 8-1 victory over Cuan Farquharson and Dennis Troyke at No. 3 doubles. With both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles team having match point at the same time, juniors Zach Frisch and Neil Lesinski defeated Dargel and Oleksandr Kotsuik, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles.

The Leathernecks began the weekend with a 4-0 win over IPFW (10-14, 2-4 Summit League), Friday, April 11. Frisch defeated Nabil Mourad Filho, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 singles. Boström beat Carlos Gonzalez at the No. 2 singles position, 6-3, 6-2. Western also got singles win from Ragee-Nelson (No. 5, 6-2, 6-0) and Jones (No. 6, 7-6 (5), 6-1).

Saturday, April 12, featured two wins for the Leathernecks over Centenary (2-13, 0-6 Summit League) and South Dakota State (5-12, 1-5 Summit League). Western beat the Gents, 4-0, with singles wins from the top four spots in the line-up. Frisch defeated Mark Rodgman at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-3, Lesinski beat Carlos Gonzalez, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 2 singles, freshman Francisco Ortiz beat Oscar Medellin at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-1, and Ragee-Nelson beat Gerardo Lozano, 6-2, 6-0.

Against the Jacks, Western swept all six singles matches, along with all three doubles match. Frisch and Tiu allowed only a game in their wins at No. 1 singles and No. 6 singles respectively. Also winning for the Leathernecks was Boström (No. 2), Lesinski (No. 3), Ortiz (No. 4), and Ragee-Nelson (No. 5).

In doubles play, Frisch Lesinski beat Michael Engdahl and Corey Paluch, 9-8 (5), at No. 1 doubles. Boström and Ragee-Nelson defeated Brian Hylle and Steve Grantz at No. 2 doubles, 8-4. Schild and Tiu beat Cody Malik and Wade Kippley, 8-1, at No. 3 doubles.

Western Illinois 4, IPFW 0
Singles
1. Zach Frisch def. Nabil Mourad Filho 6-2, 6-1
2. Martin Boström def. Carlos Gonzalez 6-3, 6-2
3. Neil Lesinski led Hermann Kuschke 6-4, 1-0 susp.
4. Francisco Siguad led Francisco Ortiz 6-7 (6), 0-3 susp.
5. Sean Ragee-Nelson def. Arturo Salgado 6-2, 6-0
6. Andy Jones def. Diego Arteaga 7-6 (5), 6-1

Doubles
DID NOT PLAY

Western Illinois 4, Centenary 0
Singles
1. Zach Frisch def. Mark Rodgman 6-1, 6-3
2. Neil Lesinski def. Alejandro Ahuja 6-0, 6-3
3. Francisco Ortiz def. Oscar Medellin 6-3, 6-1
4. Sean Ragee-Nelson def. Gerardo Lozano 6-2, 6-0
5. Andy Jones led Seva Kostelanetz 2-1 susp.
6. Jacob Dawson led Michael Tiu 1-2 susp.

Doubles
DID NOT PLAY

Western Illinois 7, South Dakota State 0
Singles
1. Zach Frisch def. Michael Engdahl 6-1, 6-0
2. Martin Boström def. Corey Paluch 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Neil Lesinski def. Brian Hylle 6-3, 6-1
4. Francisco Ortiz def. Steve Grantz 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-2)
5. Sean Ragee-Nelson def. Cody Malik 6-1, 6-0
6. Michael Tiu def. Wade Kippley 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. Engdahl/Paluch def. Frisch/Lesinski 9-8 (5)
2. Boström/Ragee-Nelson def. Hylle/Gratz 8-4
3. Tiu/Michael Schild def. Malik/Kippley 8-1

Western Illinois 4, Oral Roberts 3
Singles
1. Oleksandr Kotsuik def. Zach Frisch 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-3
2. Martin Boström (WIU) def. Alexander Dargel 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5)
3. Cuan Farquharson (ORU) def. Neil Lesinski 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3
4. Dennis Troyke (ORU) def. Francisco Ortiz 6-1, 6-0
5. Sean Ragee-Nelson (WIU) def. Clemons Geercken 6-3, 6-4
6. Andy Jones (WIU) def. Dario Beslic 6-3, 7-6 (8)

Doubles
1. Frisch/Lesinski (WIU) def. Dargel/Kotsuik 8-5
2. Boström/Ragee-Nelson (WIU) led Geercken/Troyke 7-4 (40-15) susp.
3. Michael Schild/Michael Tiu (WIU) def. Farquharson/Beslic 8-1