Junior Eduardo Pavia gave freshmen Dalton Albertin a fist bump after they rallied to score a point in their doubles match in the Ball State Invitational.
There is nothing unusual about the No. 1 doubles duo on Ball State University's men's tennis team performing well. It is unusual that Pavia and Albertin are from two completely different places on the map, making it unique that they would play tennis together.
"Once we get on the court everything is put aside and we communicate well to win the match," Pavia said. "That's how every Division I tennis team is. We put our differences aside. We are here to play tennis."
The Cardinals consist of players from United States, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Mexico and South Africa. That sounds more like a group of countries in the World Cup then the nationalities of typical Ball State students.
Ball State is the largest Indiana school that recruits in-state tennis talent. Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame did not have a single Indiana high school player on their rosters last season. Ball State currently has five, including Albertin, who is from Indianapolis.
Albertin was ranked as the No. 1 tennis recruit in the state during his senior year at Lawrence Central High School. In high school he played matches with fellow Hoosiers. Fast forward to this September as Albertin is playing with and against international talent like Pavia.
"It is exciting to meet a lot of different cultures and to get to play a lot of different kids," Albertin said. "I didn't know anyone that well before the season started, but it's been good hanging out with the team the last several weeks."
Pavia, on the other hand, is from Puerto Rico. The island is a territory of the United States, but island life in the Caribbean Sea is drastically different than living in Indiana.
Junior Pavia alternated between No. 1 and No. 2 singles, playing against the best players in Mid-American Conference and earning an All-MAC selection last season
Albertin has only played local players in high school. The experience gap along with the geography difference has not slowed the duo down in doubles play.
"Dalton is a good player," Pavia said. "No different than playing with the more experienced guys."
Even though Pavia is the most experienced player on the team and there are no seniors on Ball State's roster, he doesn't want to let that go to his head as a team leader.
"I don't know about leadership," Pavia said. "I just want to set a good example. I lead by example and not by saying stuff."
Together, Pavia and Albertin went 2-0 in the Northwestern Invitational earlier this month
Richards has a wide array of lineups for the dual match season in January. Pavia and Albertin will look to keep their success going at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional this weekend in Bloomington.
"We just do a lot of experimenting," coach Bill Richards said. "They [Pavia and Albertin] just started out playing well together."
Ball State has also experimented with other diverse doubles formations this season
Sophomore Zane Smith is from Greenwood and currently plays with sophomore Andres Monroy from Mexico City. Sophomore Cliff Morrison is from South Africa and has had great success in singles play this fall. Morrison has been working on his doubles this fall with sophomore Derek Carpenter from Fort Wayne.
"I think it's a real bonus from an educational standpoint with the different cultures," Richards said. "It's one of the real positives with the influx of international players."
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