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Ball State scored its third victory of the season this weekend against Wisconsin 4-3, after falling to No. 58 Northwestern earlier in the weekend.
"In this real tough point in our schedule it was crucial for us to at least get a split this weekend, and at least we did that," coach Bill Richards said.
Once again, Ball State (3-3) dominated the doubles matches, beating Northwestern 2-1 and Wisconsin 3-0. The doubles team of Matt Baccarani and Patrick Thompson beat Wisconsin's David Hippee and Alexander Kasarov, who were ranked No. 8 in the nation, 9-7. They had previously beaten Hippee and Kasarov 8-6 at the ITA Regional in the fall.
"It was a very good win for Matt and Patrick," Richards said. "It's a pretty significant win. The new rankings come up Tuesday, so I'm hoping that Matt and Patrick get in there."
Singles was a sore spot for the Cardinals, as only Paul Newman was able to win a singles match against Northwestern.
"We knew Northwestern was the tougher of the two, and that proved to be true," Richards said. "They simply outplayed us. We won the doubles point, but they kind of took charge in singles."
The Cardinals performed better in singles against Wisconsin, with Matt Laramore, Michael Heule and Paul Newman all scoring victories. Laramore's victory was the largest, easily handling Hippee 6-1, 6-4.
"We approached that as a match we really needed to win, with this part of our schedule," Richards said. "The guys did a good job of setting the tone, sweeping the doubles point. We were really never threatened. We were in control from start to finish."
Against Wisconsin every member of Ball State's team was able to win either his singles or doubles match, with Newman the only one winning both.
"Every player contributed to the win, in either singles or doubles. It was just a good team win," Richards said. "We've got quite an intense rivalry with Wisconsin. We've had some very tightly contested matches against them, which makes it a little bit more rewarding and made for a much more pleasant seven-hour bus ride home."
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