Over the weekend, Ball State men's tennis hosted the 39th annual Ball State Fall Invitational. The invitational featured players from Butler, IUPUI and Marquette.
The Cardinals not only won both single championship flights, but both double championship flights as well.
Junior Mason Tran and sophomore Broc Fletcher are the singles champions, while also securing the doubles championships with their duo partners, fifth-year Parrish Simmons and junior Petar Petrovic.
Entering his second season with the Cardinals, Fletcher is bringing with him big goals after the invite.
“I struggled a little bit this summer [with tennis],” Fletcher said. “It’s meant a lot to me coming back in the fall and getting my level back and playing well. This tournament, I really brought the passion and the hunger to try and win.”
With his individual goals in mind, he values the goals he has set for his teammates much more.
“Our goal is to win a championship. It’s something we’ve been chasing for a while,” Fletcher said. “This team is more like a family compared to most teams in the country… I don't consider these guys my friends, I consider them my brothers.”
Tran, a transfer student, has spent the last two years at Pacific University playing Division-III tennis. After being with Ball State for the last few months, he echoes Fletcher's statements about the brotherhood the Cardinals share.
“Those past few years I was D-III, it was a grind and I had my mind set on going somewhere where I could still develop as a player,” Tran said. “Since coming here, everyone has the same goals, everyone works hard, everyone loves everybody. I couldn’t ask for a better team.”
Head coach Bill Richards is excited for the upcoming fall and spring season, and for the two new additions to the team, Tran and freshman Drew Hayward.
While Richards said he feels lucky to have the two additions on the Cardinals, the feeling of luck does not stop with Richards. Tran also spoke about how fortunate he is to be playing under the hall of fame head coach.
“He’s the greatest head coach ever,” Tran laughed. “And the team, I honestly couldn't have fit in better anywhere else. We all love playing with each other.”
The Cardinals showcased their heightened team chemistry at the invite by calling out encouragement to one another across the courts and in between match points.
This invite also marked the first time the Cardinals have played on their home court since its renaming over the summer in honor of Richards, the university's tennis coach for the last 51 seasons.
“It is an honor,” Richards said. “I’m very thankful but I don’t think about it during these games, I’m just happy we have such a beautiful facility that we’re able to use.”
Ball State only has two more preseason tournaments with the last coming at the beginning of November. The near two-month gap between preseason games and the regular season can be challenging, as university restrictions don’t allow the team to meet for nearly five weeks.
Richards spoke on the struggle this in-between time can cause due to the restrictions, but ultimately trusts in the Cardinals and has faith in their ability to stay on top of their game.
“It can be tricky, we have to tell the guys so, but, I mean they’ve done this their whole life. It’s all in their hands,” he said.
Aside from this, the only thing Richards is worried about is trying to finalize a roster come January due to all the talent shared on the squad this year. He believes in the Cardinals’ ability to succeed, and even though the preseason may be all individual, it still shows how far their potential upcoming tournament run could go.
Ball State's regular season starts Friday, Jan. 19 at 7 pm. against Butler.
Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu.edu or on X @thetrinityrea.
