PREVIEW: Ball State men's tennis vs. Indiana

Senior Andrew Stutz won in straight sets during the match against Eastern Illinois' Jared Woodson on Jan. 22 at Muncie's Northwest YMCA. Stutz won both sets 6-1. Grace Ramey // DN
Senior Andrew Stutz won in straight sets during the match against Eastern Illinois' Jared Woodson on Jan. 22 at Muncie's Northwest YMCA. Stutz won both sets 6-1. Grace Ramey // DN

Ball State men's tennis continues its season with a road trip to take on Indiana Jan. 27.

The Hoosiers are undefeated at 2-0, while the Cardinals come in at 1-2 after a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Illinois.

“They’re always a good team," Ball State head coach Bill Richards said. "They’re a young team, only returning two of their top six players. It’s always going to be a challenge when facing a Big Ten opponent, even if they are only returning two of their top six players.”

The player to watch for the Cardinals is Lucas Andersen, a senior from Greenwood. Andersen won the MAC Flight 1 Singles Championship in the fall and opened the spring season by taking No. 27 Josh Hagar from Notre Dame to three sets, though he lost in the third set (10-3). Andersen also beat Gergely Madarasz from Purdue, who is 49th in the nation.

“Lucas Andersen has had a great career while continuing that into his senior by winning the Purdue Invitation and the Top-Flight Singles Championship at the MAC indoor Fall Invite," Richards said.

Indiana features a young squad with one senior and two juniors. Raheel Manji, a junior, is the expected top-flight player.

“I would be shocked if Raheel was not their top-flight player,” Richards said.

Manji has a connection with the Ball State tennis team — he played at the same club in Canada as Cardinals sophomores Marko Guzina and Nemanja Guzina. Before enrolling at IU, Raheel was the No. 2 under-18 junior tennis player in Canada.

The match will be played at 6 p.m. Jan. 27 in Bloomington, Indiana, at the IU Tennis Center.

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