For the first time since Feb. 29, Ball State walked away from the tennis courts with a win under its belt. The Cardinals beat IPFW 5-2 Wednesday evening.
Junior Lauren Pickrel clinched the match for Ball State when she beat Alex Forsyth 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
"It's really exciting because I personally haven't been out there as much, but every time I'm out there, I just try to do everything I can to get the win," Pickrel said. "It was good to beat an in-state rival."
The Cardinals scored the first point off their doubles and started the match with a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Kristel Sanders beat Marcy Huck 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. In the second set of Sanders' match, she and her opponent had a disagreement about whether or not Sanders called a ball out. Both teams' coaches were called over, and eventually the official was forced to step in and call for the point to be re-played.
"In tennis, you have a lot of altercations and controversies, and there are a lot of emotional ups and downs," coach Christine Bader said. "It was good to see our girls pull through those and pull off some wins."
Freshman Courtney Wild won her singles match against Anita Henestrosa 6-1, 6-4. The victory was Wild's 20th win of the season.
Directly after the doubles matches, a fundraiser was held for the fans. Whoever could serve the ball with the most velocity would win a new racket, courtesy of Babolat.
Ball State volleyball player Graham McIlvaine won; he served at a high of 87 mph. It raised $50 for the tennis program.
Also winning in singles was Sarah Hebble, who beat Frederique Sunstrum 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Ball State secured the victory despite six members of the team having "flu-like symptoms," Bader said.
"We kind of talked to them before the match just about how you might not feel 100 percent today, but we wanted you to look and act like it," Bader said. "I think they did a really good job of doing that."
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