In the few short weeks of Ball State's season so far, one story has shone through: The Cardinals win the doubles point against Big Ten schools but are unable to win the singles matches they need to win.
That was the case Saturday when Cardinals (2-3) went to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on No. 49 Michigan (3-1). The Cardinals, on the heals of the No. 56 Matt Baccarani and Patrick Thompson, were again able to win the doubles point but could not win a singles match, and lost 6-1.
"We just have to play a little bit better," coach Bill Richards said. "They are a good team and they have very good players. We gave ourselves chances in five of the six singles matches, just couldn't play quite well enough to get any of the wins."
Baccarani and Thompson earned their fourth win of the season and their second over a ranked opponent when they took down No. 17 Ryan Heller and Brian Hung 8-5.
"I think it's just experience, experience at that level," Richards said. "They're kind of a marked team now. They have some good wins and are pretty highly respected. Everybody wants a piece of them. As juniors they have stepped up their maturity another level. They are more ready for every match, and they're fighting back better."
Tony Epkey and Brad Rhodes clinched the point for the Cardinals with a key doubles win.
In singles, the Cardinals struggled in some close matches. Baccarani fell to Michael Rubin 6-3, 3-6, 1-0(8). Epkey and Paul Newman also took their singles matches into third sets, but neither were able to convert for a win. Epkey fell 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Matko Maravic, who defeated Baccarani in the fall, while Newman fell 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(6) to Steve Peretz.
Matt Laramore dropped two 6-4 sets to No. 70 Hung, while Thompson fell 6-3, 7-6(5) to David Anving. Jan Polhamus fell to Heller 6-3, 6-2.
"Obviously a lot of (our record) has to do with the strength of our schedule," Richards said. "We have to avoid getting down and we have to keep trying to get a little more out of ourselves."
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