GALESBURG, Ill. – Western Illinois men's tennis picked up their first victory of the season following a 7-0 decision over Monmouth College at the Lakeside Tennis Courts on Sunday evening (Feb. 16). It's also the first victory in the coaching career of Mashiska Washington.

The Fighting Leathernecks started the match by sweeping the doubles point. Max Cederkall and Brandon Meeker cruised to an 8-3 win in the second doubles, while Chris Bunch and Brett Furmanski won 8-4 in the third doubles. Christoph Haertel and Mitch Granger rallied for an 8-5 win in the number one doubles.

All six singles victories went in straight sets. Haertel improved to 2-0 on the weekend following a 6-4, 6-0 win over Chris Franco. Granger also went 2-0 on the weekend defeating David Johnson 6-2, 6-3.

Cederkall also cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over David Stewart. Meeker defeated Derek Rineberg 6-3, 6-0 in the fourth singles. Bunch earned a 6-2, 6-0 win over Marco Franco, and Furmanski finished the shutout with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Andrew Shiakallis.

"After our first conference match with Omaha we were able to assess our level of play and realized that the match was much closer than the score indicated. This gave our team confidence going into their next dual match against Monmouth College," said Washington. "They were able to carry their momentum into their second match and all of our players were able to contribute to their first victory of the season."

The Leathernecks (1-5 overall) travel to Rockford next weekend to face Northern Illinois (Feb. 22) and Dayton (Feb. 23).

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