Ball State University tennis player Matt Baccarani lost in the first round of the men's singles tournament at the NCAA Championships. He was defeated by Clement Reix of Clemson University 6-4, 6-4.
"I thought that Matt played fairly well," coach Bill Richards said. "He didn't play his best, but it was a winnable match. He played well in spots and probably just made a few too many errors."
The turning point in the match came when Baccrani, while up 3-1 in the second set, had his serve broken by reix. . Reix was ranked No. 30 in the nation; whereas, Baccarani is ranked No. 104.
"He had his chances and didn't stay up when he was up and he didn't convert some opportunities," Richards said. "It was one of those tough matches where he didn't play quite well enough."
Baccarani, the underdog in the match, said it was tough match and that Reix was a quality oppoenent.
"I thought like I played alright and I didn't know the guy, but he was a good player and came up with some big shots at the right time," he said. "It was a close match."
Baccarani finished the year with a 24-9 record in singles.
He and his doubles partner, Patrick Thompson, play in the first round of the doubles tournament on Thursday against Andre Begemann and Scott Doemer of Pepperdine University, the 2nd seeded team in the tourney.
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