Final rounds of the Ball State Invitational concluded Sunday morning. The Ball State men's tennis team was nothing short of impressive on its home court.
Senior Austin Sansone advanced to the final round of the flight-B singles bracket where he was defeated by Colton Buffington from Louisville 7-6 (1), 6-0. Teammates Ray Leonard and Dalton Albertin advanced to the final round of the flight-A doubles bracket before losing to Luis Elizondo and Jeff Brown from Louisville 8-4.
Coach Bill Richards said he was pleased with the performance of his team.
"Good tournament; obviously when you have four guys in the quarterfinals, and three of four in this semifinals, you know they were really strong," Richards said.
Senior Cliff Morrison advanced to the final round of the flight-A singles bracket where he was defeated by Jason Jaruvang of IUPUI 6-1, 6-0. Morrison did not walk away as tournament-winner, but he did walk away having surpassed his own expectations, as well as those of his coach.
Morrison was thought to be suffering from compartment syndrome in 2011. Compartment syndrome is a condition that involves excess pressure in an area of soft tissue. In order to help relieve the pressure, Morrison underwent compartment release surgery in May 2011. The initial surgery, however, was unsuccessful.
In October 2011, Morrison went under the knife again, this time for a full reconstructive surgery. Morrison said the surgery consists of breaking the bones to put the tendons in place. Screws were used to ensure the knee would heal correctly. Morrison was forced to spend six weeks in a wheelchair before having the screws removed in January 2012. Morrison competed in a total of eight matches this weekend.
Morrison said he wasn't sure he would play that much going into the invitational and was just happy to be back on the court.
"A lot of tennis -¡-¡- three months ago I did not expect to play this much, at this level," Morrison said.
Richards questioned whether or not Morrison would be able to play through the entire Invitational. Richards said "the fact that he has physically held up is a major accomplishment."
Morrison and the rest of the team will have three weeks to rest before competing in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional beginning on Oct. 19.
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