The 11th-ranked University of Illinois men's tennis team is supposed to win against lesser opponents at home.
Unfortunately for Ball State University, it was that lesser team playing in Champaign, Ill., Friday afternoon. Illinois put their ranking on display, sweeping Ball State 7-0 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
"We were competitive in some spots and not in others," coach Bill Richards said. "With a little luck we could have scored a couple points. They are just a better team than we are and they beat us pretty soundly today."
Eduardo Pavia and Dalton Albertin secured the lone win for the Cardinals at No. 1 doubles, winning 8-6. Doubles has been a concern all year for the team, but the duo has been consistent in their play.
With only one more match before the start of Mid-American Conference play, some may feel questions of a team's confidence could arise after a match like Friday's. Cliff Morrison, however, disagrees and doesn't see it as a problem.
"I think our confidence level is still high," Morrison said. "When you are playing a ranked team, you don't go in saying, ‘Oh, they are a ranked team, we are going to struggle.' We don't have a confidence problem like that."
Instead Morrison thinks of the loss like reverse psychology.
"This match will definitely benefit us in Mid-American Conference play," Morrison said. "In these type of matches we can go out and show what we are made of. I think we showed tonight we can compete with those guys for a period of time."
In any case, the Cardinals don't have much time to dwell on Friday's loss. The team comes home to Muncie to play host to Butler University today at 1 p.m.
Butler comes in having lost three straight matches. Saturday will be a complete role reversal, with Ball State now being the favorite.
With Ball State, the same rules apply.
"The match against Butler is a completely different match," Morrison said. "We are playing at home now and it is a big opportunity for Butler. I don't think the last loss will bother us, it just makes us want to win the next one even more."
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