As seniors Sarah Hebble, Kylee Johnson and Dena Boulieris walked off the Ball State tennis courts for the final time following a 7-0 loss to Miami (OH), they all had a bittersweet feeling about the day.
Despite her sentiment, Boulieris was thrilled to be able to share the day with the men's tennis team, who was also celebrating senior day.
"I was definitely emotional today, but I was very excited," she said. Obviously this is my last time playing out here. I couldn't ask for a better day because we got to share it with the guys, so that just made it even better."
Boulieris lost 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday.
The moment hadn't yet set in for Johnson.
"It still hasn't hit me that I'm a senior . . . I'm not ready to leave, I'm not ready to be done with this," she said. "I don't even have words. It seems like the four years went by so fast. It's kinda sad. I gave it all I got, I have no regrets. I'm proud to be part of this team."
Johnson lost 6-1 6-3 to Nimisha Mohan.
Instead of dwelling on the losses, Hebble decided to remember her favorite wins from her career, like beating Michigan State in doubles last year.
"It's also sweet because I'm here with my friends and I'm going to be doing something new," Hebble said.
Hebble fell to Alix Thurman, 6-0, 6-1.
The Cardinals started the match roughly after losing the doubles point. The No. 1 freshman duo of Courtney Wild and Ashlyn Rang came the closest to winning, but fell 8-4.
In singles, Wild lost the first match 6-3, but flipped it in the second 6-3 before losing to Miami in the third 10-5.
With the loss, the Cardinals finished 0-8 in MAC play in 2012, the third time since 1989. The other times were in 1989, former coach Kathy Bull's first season in charge, and in 2009, Bull's final season.
Ball State will play for the Mid-American Conference championship next week, with its first game on Thursday at 1 p.m.
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