Indiana State is an improved team, but they are not the 55th-ranked team that beat Ball State 6-1 last year. In fact, the Cardinals were able to avenge last year's loss with a 6-1 victory over the Sycamores.
The Cards (10-11, 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference) were contested in doubles, with Klint Knable and Paul Newman clinching the point with a 9-8 win over Boyd Michau and Dewald Linde.
"(In) doubles we struggled, (but) we managed to squeak it out," coach Bill Richards said. "(Matt) Baccarani and (Patrick) Thompson won, and then Knable and Newman won the point in a tiebreaker, and they were actually able to save the match point (first) and then won a 12-10 tiebreaker. That was good, to get through that. We need to play (doubles) better."
Once the Cards moved to singles, they were able to come into their own. Newman and Knable captured two quick victories, while Baccarani fell to Andrey Kumantsov.
"In singles, we were in control all the way," Richards said. "We won four matches in straight sets. Laramore won in three sets at No. 3, the singles match we lost was Baccarani at No. 1 (singles slot)."
The Cardinals continued to complete victories over the Sycamores, with Mike Heule winning over Michau 7-5, 6-3, and Patrick Thompson defeating Ivan D'Argence Arceo 6-3, 6-4. By the time Matt Laramore entered a super-tiebreaker against R.J. Nagel, the victory was already decided, it was just a matter of the score.
"I would say after the doubles point we took control and weren't threatened at any point after that," Richards said. "It's a pretty solid win overall."
Laramore was challenged by Nagel but eventually came out on top, winning 6-3, 4-6, 10-7.
The match was the Cardinals' fourth straight victory and continued their streak of wins over unranked opponents. The Cardinals will face Northern Illinois on Easter Sunday at 1 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill.
"As far as Northern Illinois, they're a good team, they've had a good year," Richards said. "We felt important to play well today and get momentum for that match, and I felt for the most part, we accomplished that."
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