With Ball State and Buffalo tied at 3-3, junior Alex Brym squatted down in his usual position and thought about what a win would do for his confidence and level of play.
Over the past couple of months, he had lost all 10 of his singles matches.
"Every time I've had a chance to finish a match, I try to change my game instead of keeping what I was doing," Brym said.
With his teammates cheering him on from behind the fence, Brym returned the tennis ball over the net, hoping he wouldn't let this match get away like he did so many times before.
A poor shot by Buffalo's Travis Zappia on the next volley secured the 4-3 win for Ball State and ended Brym's losing streak.
The win also ended Buffalo's hopes of an undefeated Mid-American Conference season.
"Individually, this feels good for me confidence wise," Brym said. "It's what I needed because I haven't won a match since February."
Ball State began its match with Buffalo looking like it may run away with it. Freshman Patrick Elliott and senior Andres Monroy started things off in No. 3 doubles with a dominating 8-3 win over Alex Kalinin and Jason Shkodnik. Freshman Ray Leonard and junior Dalton Albertin would soon follow Elliott and Monroy with an 8-5 win over Damien David and Vusa Hove in No. 1 doubles.
The 1-0 lead would be short lived for Ball State as Buffalo would start singles play with two straight victories. Hove defeated Albertin 6-4, 6-0 in No. 2 singles while Wojciech Starakiewicz defeated senior Zane Smith 6-0, 6-3.
Elliott's 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kalinin in No. 5 singles would give the lead back to Ball State at 3-2, setting up Brym's eventual winning point.
"I dropped that first set, but after that, I started 0-0," Elliott said. "I relaxed and tried to play my game. From then on, I was able to take control of the match."
Coach Bill Richards said the Buffalo win is big for Ball State going into the conference tournament.
"I think this win gives us a confidence boost and it sends a message to the rest of the league that we're still a top contending team," he said.
Richards, however, said this win is not the team's most important ambition.
"We know the most important goal in front of us is next week; to win the MAC Tournament," he said.
Ball State will return to action on Thursday when it will play either Toledo or Chicago State. Start time is to be announced.
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