LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Bill Richards will have to wait over half a year to win his 501st game. After taking win No. 500 against Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Championship 4-3, the Cardinals fell to No. 18 Florida State in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament 4-0.
The Cardinals (20-9) were without first-team all-MAC selection Matt Baccarnai, who was held out due to a violation of athletic department rules.
"I think that under the circumstances, we made a great effort," Richards said. "We had nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud of the guys. We did the best we could."
Baccarani, who teams with Patrick Thompson to form the nation's No. 24 doubles team and plays in the top singles spot, had posted a 15-11 record in the regular season, while he and Thompson went 23-3 in doubles.
"It's night and day," Richards said. "[Losing Baccarani] made a difficult task nearly impossible.
"It took a lot out of everyone emotionally."
Not having Baccarani forced the Cardinals to adjust their lineup, bumping everyone up a spot in the lineup. The move also put Mike Heule into the lineup for singles and forced Thompson to team up with Jan Polhamus. Polhamus and Thompson had only played together three times before.
"We talked to everyone about rising to the occasion," Richards said. "Everyone's got to play at their best in order to have a shot."
The Cardinals were all but dominated in doubles with Matt Laramore and Tony Epkey falling 8-3 and Thompson and Polhamus falling 8-4 to Florida State.
In singles, only four courts were available, so Laramore, Epkey, Paul Newman and Klint Knable took the courts first.
Epkey was the first Cardinal to fall, 6-3, 6-1 to FSU's Ytai Abougzir. Paul Newman fell next to put the Cardinals down 3-0.
Laramore, in his final match as a Cardinal, took over the team's top single spot, where he faced No. 26 Mat Cloer.
"He's just so tough," Richards said of Cloer.
Laramore battled with Cloer, dropping the first set 6-3, before coming back to take the second set 6-1. Laramore was down 6-5 on a serve to Cloer when Klint Knable dropped to Chris Westerhof 6-4, 6-2.
"It's a shame," Richards said. "That's the thing when you play to four.
"Heule didn't even get to start his match, and that was a real shame. For Matt, I was hoping for Paul and Klint to stay on court long enough for his match to finish," Richards said.
The match closed the season for the Cardinals and ended the careers of Ball State's seniors.
"It was a good year," Richards said. "We're not going to let this put a damper on it."
The match was the sixth appearance in the NCAAs for the Cardinals, the highest number of appearances for any school in the MAC.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
