In its first match against Eastern Illinois on Friday, it looked like the Ball State men's tennis team would have a fight on its hands.
It began with the tandem of Warren Race and Volodymyr Zverkovsky. They defeated Ball State senior Andres Monroy and junior Austin Sansone 8-7 (1) in No. 3 doubles.
"It was a tough match because we knew we didn't have to win and it's always tough when you don't have that pressure on you," Monroy said. "We lost and had a lack of confidence."
In singles action, Race and David Constantinescu pushed freshman Ray Leonard and junior Alex Brym to tiebreaks.
"I struggled a little bit with my wrist, but that's not an excuse," Brym said. "I wasn't being consistent; I wasn't making first serves and I was really tight, so I lost the second set 7-5."
It would be the closest Eastern Illinois or Indiana Tech would come to giving Ball State a match.
Brym and Leonard regained their composure and won their respective matches in the tiebreak. Brym defeated Constantinescu by a score of 6-1, 5-7, 10-8 while Leonard defeated Race 6-3, 7-6 (7-0). The wins capped off a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Illinois.
"I think we played pretty well," coach Bill Richards said. "We talked about not having a letdown and taking care of business. I didn't think we came out with the 100 percent total mindset we needed. At the same time, when we did get pushed; for the most part, we did come through some situations."
The momentum continued in Ball State's evening matchup with Indiana Tech. The Cardinals also defeated them by a score of 7-0. The closest Indiana Tech would get to a victory was in No. 1 doubles. Nikolas Jubera Munoz and Sriram Aranganathan lost to the tandem of seniors Zane Smith and Derek Carpenter by a score of 8-4. The other two doubles matches were won by a score of 8-0 while the six singles matches ended in straight sets. Four of the six singles matches were won by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
"Against Indiana Tech, we didn't know what to expect," Monroy said. "We've never hit it up with those guys, but I think we were well prepared. That's a very important thing coach [Richards] does with us. He gets us mentally prepared for every match, no matter who we play."
In addition to extending its winning streak to 11 games, Ball State had two of its players extend their own streaks. Leonard extended his singles winning streak to 11 matches while sophomore Austin Smith extended his singles streak to nine.
Monroy also received work in singles and doubles action after continuing his recovery from a hip injury. He rebounded from the No. 3 doubles loss with Sansone with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Indiana Tech's Gary Zambrano at the No. 6 singles position.
"I'm feeling better every day," Monroy said. "I can't tell you exactly where I am percentage wise, but I feel like it's close to where I and coach want it to be. It's just a matter of playing a lot of points and sets to see if I'm able to handle an important match."
Looking forward to Ball State's matchup with Michigan State next Saturday, junior Dalton Albertin said the doubles point will be huge.
"They're very good at the top of the lineup, especially their one through three," he said. "Knowing that, we definitely need the doubles point. Then, as long as everyone competes lower in the lineup, we definitely are comparable 100 percent depth wise."
First serve in the Michigan State matchup will be at 12 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
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