Junior Cliff Morrison didn't just beat Jimmy Roebker of Xavier at No. 2 singles, he got inside his head.
"This is unbelievable!" Roebker shouted in the second set of the match after losing another point.
Morrison won in straight sets 6-0, 6-2. Roebker slammed his racket on the court three times after losing match point.
"As soon as you see the bad emotion you know you have the guy on the ropes," Morrison said. "If you are throwing your racket, shouting and swearing it just brings everybody down."
Ball State beat Xavier 5-2 Saturday in the Northwest YMCA moving its record to 3-1. Morrison's match was the smoothest win for the Cardinals.
"He played the game I wanted to play, so it was a good match-up for me," Morrison said on Roebker. "He tried to beat me on the baseline, and I just prefer it."
The Cardinals' victory over the three-time defending Atlantic 10 Conference Champions is their most impressive win of the young season.
"I told our guys that I have a lot of respect for Xavier but it was a match I expected to win," Coach Bill Richards said. "We came through in pressure situations."
The doubles point came down to a tie-breaker at No. 1 between Morrison and junior Zane Smith against Bobby Deye and Brian Starr of Xavier. Morrison and Smith won the tie-breaker 7-3.
No. 1 singles between Dalton Albertin and Deye was an emotional match and took the longest to complete. Albertin won the first set 6-1 frustrating Deye into emotional outbursts.
Deye limited his mistakes in the second and overcame a 5-3 deficit to win the set 7-5.
Albertin regained his composure in the third and rattled off three straight points to win 6-3.
The other four singles matches were just as back in forth as No. 1.
Smith won at No. 4 (6-1, 5-7, 6-4) and won match point on a disputed out-of-bounds call. Smith played the match with an injured left shoulder but was able to play because he serves with his right.
"We have a lot of guys who have improved a lot." Richards said. "I look at guys we are putting out on the court this year and where they were last year and it's rewarding to see."
Freshman Austin Smith was inserted into the line-up for a second straight week and won at No. 6 (3-6, 6-3, 6-2).
"[Austin Smith] had the best week of practice," Richards said. "We put him in at No. 6, and he responded well."
Sophomore Alexandre Brym and senior Shaun Bussert lost their singles matches in three sets.
Junior Andres Monroy sat out again with stress fractures in his hip and may be done for the year.
Ball State will play a double header at home next Saturday against Detroit Mercy and Anderson.
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