Ball State had four sports in action over the weekend, including personal-bests on the track and doubles wins on the tennis court. Here's what you may have missed in Cardinal athletics.
Track and field
Ball State Track and Field tallied two event wins in its home opener at the Ball State Tune-Up Friday.
One of the two event wins came from sophomore MaQuila Norman. Norman ran a 58.30 in the 400-meter dash to put her at the top of the leaderboard.
The other win for the Cardinals came from junior Jasmine Harris, who has racked up top performances all season. Harris won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.97. She also took fourth place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.82.
"It was awesome to see Harris rediscover the types of performances that made her one of the best freshmen in the MAC two years ago," head coach Brian Etelman said. "[She] really adds some depth and excitement to a sprint/hurdle crew that is really getting after it right now."
Despite not winning her events, redshirt freshman Michelle Lehmann put together a pair of second-place finishes on the day. Lehmann finished with a time of 7.80 in the 60-meter dash and jumped 5.45 meters in the long jump.
Also finishing in second place for the Cardinals were sophomore Ivy McKee with a career-best 25.22 in the 200-meter dash and sophomore Emmalyne Tarsa who ran a career-best 5:11.18 in the mile.
The next step for the Cardinals is to tackle the 2019 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships next weekend at Kent State.
"I'm just excited we've got really, really good momentum rolling into next week at the MAC Championships,” Etelman said. "Now we just need to keep people healthy, keep them focused and just get ready to get after it."
Men’s tennis
Ball State Men’s Tennis split the weekend on the road with one win and one loss.
The Cardinals picked up a 4-3 win on the road against Wright State Friday. Despite falling off to an early 1-0 position, the Cardinals battled back and got a 3-1 lead over the Raiders. That first point came from sophomore Thibault De Negri who won his sets, 6-2, then 6-0.
Claiming the final point for the Cardinals was sophomore Bryce Bonin who won his second set, 6-4.
“On the road, we came through with a 4-3 win, and we are happy to get out of there with a win,” head coach Bill Richards said. “I don’t think we played our best, but we managed to come out with a win.”
However, Saturday’s competition did not bring as much fortune as the previous day. Ball State fell to Northwestern by a team score of 7-0.
The closest match of the evening came from sophomore Chris Adams and senior Conner Andersen in doubles play. The matchup was tied at four games apiece, but it ended up going unfinished.
“[Northwestern] is better than we are and played better this weekend,” Richards said. “I was a little disappointed that we didn’t put ourselves in position to get a little bit closer.”
Ball State will play at Cleveland State Friday at 5 p.m.
Women’s tennis
Ball State Women’s Tennis seized a pair of victories after a busy weekend on the road.
The Cardinals opened up the weekend on Friday by beating Saint Francis, 6-1. This victory extended their winning streak to four games. The Cardinals improved to 5-1 on the season.
The duo of senior Sarah Swiderski and sophomore Victoria Sec kicked off the day by winning their doubles matchup, 6-0. More doubles points came from performances by seniors Peyton Gollhofer and Isabelle Dohanics, who won their set, 6-0.
Ball State swept Saint Francis by winning four of the five courts in singles action. Gollhofer led the singles with a court two victory, allowing her to stay undefeated in singles play on the season.
“We are motivated, and we are happy,” head coach Max Norris said. “I think at the same time you have to try to get better because it is a long season. We have to stay focused and motivated.”
The second day of competition in Pittsburgh led to a 5-2 win over Duquesne. Gollhofer and Dohanics once again won their match, 6-1. Junior Rebecca Herrington stepped up and contributed to the singles points by winning her sets, 6-2 and 6-3. Sophomore Lilya Hadab’s three-set victory gave the Cardinals the winning point.
“We have been eyeing this weekend for a while,” Norris said. “Our next goal for when we went on the road was to go 2-0. I am pleased that our whole team bought in and everyone played a part in their own way.”
The Cardinals will be back in action next weekend at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center against Western Kentucky.
Gymnastics
Ball State Gymnastics fell to Northern Illinois in its second home match of the season Sunday.
Although Ball State individuals won three of the four events, Northern Illinois’ 49.425 in the floor event was too strong to hold off.
“We performed really well in three events,” head coach Joanna Saleem said. “ We were focused on hitting handstands and sticking landings. We did a nice job of doing that and scoring 49 in three events.”
The highest score of the day for the Cardinals came from senior Kaitlyn Menzione who scored a 9.925 in the floor event. This placed Menzione in second for the outing.
The Cardinals controlled by finishing in the top four spots. The vault performance was led by sophomore Arden Hudson with a score of 9.850. Each of the Cardinals in the top four spots scored at or above a 9.800.
Junior Maddie MacDonald and graduate student Jordyn Penny both led the bars event, each scoring 9.875. Penny also took first place in the beam with a score of 9.800.
The Cardinals ended up falling to the Huskies, 194.700-195.700.
The strongest rotation for the Cardinals proved to be the bars, with a score of 49.125. This score was followed by the vault and the floor, both with a score of 49.075. The most challenging section of the afternoon was the beam at 47.425.
“We went to beam and obviously had trouble over there,” Saleem said. “We need to do a better job adjusting so we can compete the way we know how in four events instead of three.”
The Cardinals will travel to Pittsburgh Friday to face off with the Panthers.
Contact Drew Pierce with any comments at dlpierce2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @dpierce3cc.
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