The Ball State men's tennis team began its fall season at the 39th annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic Sept. 12 at the Town Club in Fox Point.
In first round action, the Cardinals opened up against host Marquette for the singles competition.
Senior Patrick Elliott and sophomore Patrick Downs each recorded wins for Ball State. Elliott defeated Vukasin Teofanovic 4-2, after Teofanovic was forced to retire. Downs won in straight sets over Krystiyan Trukov, 7-6, 6-4.
In the doubles competition, the Cardinals defeated Air Force in a sweep. Elliott teamed up with sophomore Lucas Andersen for an 8-6 win over Grant Taylor and Max Olson. Senior Ray Leonard paired with freshman Colling Rigney to earn an 8-4 victory over Andrew Parks and Sean Chi.
Sophomores Matt Helm and Downs finished the day with an 8-4 defeat over Lucas Fumagalli and Nico Carpenter.
The team continued action Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. against Wisconsin in singles play.
Ball State then matched up against Marquette in doubles competition at 4 p.m.
For the singles competition, Andersen was the only Cardinal to record a win for Ball State over Wisconsin's Jakhongir Jalalov. Andersen defeated his opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
In doubles action, the Cardinals registered only one victory. Helm paired up with freshman Jan Jirus to defeat Kystiyan Trukov and Gleb Sklyr, 8-5.
The Ball State men's tennis team will conclude its competition at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. against Wisconsin and 12 p.m. versus Air Force
