With a little luck and a fighting spirit, Ball State men’s tennis (11-4, 1-0 MAC) traveled to Binghamton and came out with a 4-3 win. After another close win, head coach Bill Richards said this match was a “good team win.”
“We played very poorly in doubles and came back and won four of the six singles matches,” Richards said. “Overall, I thought the guys did a pretty good job fighting back after losing that doubles point. It’s always difficult, but I thought everyone played very well in singles.”
After losing the doubles point, freshman Bryce Bonin came out with some passion to win his singles match. Bonin won a point for the Cardinals in two sets (6-3, 6-1).
“Bryce came out and dominated his opponent,” Richards said. “He kind of erased that doubles point and made it 1-0 real quick. That’s always good when you can get back to even after you lose that doubles point. It’s always a big momentum changer.”
And the momentum had changed. After Bonin won his singles match, junior Nemanja Guzina won his match in two sets (7-6, 6-3). After losing the first set (2-6), junior Conner Andersen won the next two sets (6-4,6-0). Then it came down to freshman Chris Adams.
After winning the first set (6-0), then losing the second set (6-7) in a tiebreaker, everything had come down to Adams’ match. Under another pressure situation, Adams won the third set (6-2) and made the Cardinals get their first Mid-American Conference win.
Ball State will face another MAC opponent in Northern Illinois tomorrow. The Huskies had dominated the Bearcats, winning 6-1. Richards said tomorrow’s match will be much different.
“Northern Illinois is a better team than Binghamton,” Richards said. “We have to play even better tomorrow than we did today. We’re hoping to do that.”
Ball State will face Northern Illinois at 1 p.m. Sunday in Rockford, Illinois.
Contact Patrick Murphy with comments at prmurphy2@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @PMURPH505.
Read More
Stretch of cooler temperatures entering into the weekend
By Evan Reed / 39 minutes agoWeather Forecaster Evan Reed has the latest on the continuing cooler temperatures next week.
‘The program is still alive:’ Wapahani baseball defeats Alexandria on Raiders’ special night
By Zach Carter / 3 hours agoAfter having multiple ceremonies before the game, Wapahani baseball defeated Alexandria 4-2. Raiders' starting pitcher Kayson Perdue threw a complete game with six strikeouts.
Self-immolation outside Manhattan courthouse where Trump trial is adjourned
By Staff Reports / 9 hours agoA person, who was later identified as Max Azzarello, self-immolated outside of the Manhattan courthouse where former president Donald Trump is on trial. Azzarello was extinguished and rushed away by emergency services. He is in critical condition at Weill Cornell Medicine - Burn Center, according to a press conference held by the New York Police Department (NYPD).
