This weekend's doubleheader may be just what the No. 68 Ball State University men's tennis team needed to get back on track. After losing three straight matches, the Cardinals swept a pair of foes on Saturday to improve their record to 4-3.
The Cardinals began the day against the University of Dayton, and got off to a quick doubles start en route to a 7-0 victory over the Flyers. Matt Baccarani and Joe Epkey teamed up to defeat Tom Murphy and Jamison Downs at No 1 doubles, 8-0. At the No. 2 spot, Patrick Thompson and Tony Epkey won 8-2, and Danny Vidal and Jose Perdomo took an 8-3 victory in the third doubles spot.
In singles play, No. 1 Baccarani defeated Murphy 2-6, 6-1, 6-0. That first set for Baccarani was the only set the Cardinals lost, as Joe Epkey, Tony Epkey, Thompson, Jan Polhamus, and Vidal all won their matches in straight sets.
"We jumped on them pretty hard in doubles," said coach Bill Richards, who also felt Dayton took advantage of a small Cardinal lapse early on in singles play. "To their credit [Dayton] came out and played really, really hard [in singles],"
Against the University of Indianapolis, Ball State earned a 6-1 win. Baccarani and Joe Epkey won their doubles match 8-5 and Thompson and Tony Epkey pulled out an 8-3 victory. At the No. 3 doubles position, Joe Vallee and Perdomo swept their opponents 8-0. The Cardinals continued their domination in singles play. Thompson (6-1, 6-7, 8-10) was the only Cardinal to falter as Joe Epkey, Polhamus, Vidal, Vallee, and Perdomo all beat their Greyhound opponents.
For the most part, Richards thought his team played well but would have liked not to have given up a point.
"We don't feel like we should lose a point to them," Richards said. "Naturally, we're a little disappointed. It's a constant battle for [Patrick] to keep his focus."
However, Richards also said he had no doubt Thompson would put the loss behind him.
Richards was glad he was able to play so many guys on the team and specifically pointed out the solid effort of junior Joe Epkey, who he thought played well in both singles and in doubles.
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