The weekend started out smoothly for the No. 68 Ball State men's tennis squad, but ended in frustration.
On Friday evening the Cardinals won a convincing 7-0 match against the IUPUI Jaguars to improve to 2-0 on the year. The Cardinals swept the Jaguars in singles and doubles, with every singles player winning in straight sets.
Head coach Bill Richards said he was proud of the way his team approached the IUPUI match.
"I thought everyone did a real good job," Richards said. "We did what we had to do in terms of coming out with a good attitude and not looking ahead to the Northwestern match."
Unfortunately, the momentum from Friday's match did not carry over to Sunday. The Cardinals fell to the No. 51 Northwestern Wildcats 5-2 on Sunday, in a match Richards felt was certainly winnable.
"We felt we needed to win this match," Richards said. "We had every opportunity to win it, and we didn't convert on opportunities and we're very, very disappointed. This is a must-win for us that we let get away."
In the match, Ball State was able to sweep the Wildcats in doubles. The No. 4 doubles duo in the nation, seniors Matt Baccarani and Patrick Thompson, won their match 9-7 as did brothers Tony and Jarrod Epkey. At the No. 3 doubles position, junior Joe Epkey and freshman Joe Vallee won 9-8.
In singles play, the Cardinals did not fare as well. Baccarani was the only Cardinal player to win his singles match when he defeated Northwestern's Christian Tempke 6-4, 6-3.
"I'm happy with my singles match," said Baccarani, before adding that he and Thompson did not play their best in doubles.
With such a high doubles ranking, Richards said that Baccarani and Thompson will have to prepare even harder against their opponents who will try extra hard to defeat them.
"Everyone's shooting for them," Richards said. "With a quality opponent you just have to come through in crucial situations and convert on key points."
Baccarani said a way for he and Thompson to stay sharp throughout the season is by practicing with their teammates.
"We have an advantage because everyone on our team plays really good doubles," he said.
The schedule will not get any easier for the Cardinals (2-1) when they play again Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they will be facing the No. 48 Michigan Wolverines. The match is set to start at 6 p.m.
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