Bowling Green leads the MAC in total offense, scoring 74 points a game while holding opponents to just more than 60 points a game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in free throw percentage and field goal percentage.
The Cardinals finish the two-day invitational today. For continuing coverage, check back with bsudailynews.com.
For 33 minutes Thursday night, Randy Davis played almost flawless basketball. The point guard led Ball State University to a 64-59 victory against Bowling Green State University with a game-high 18 points and four assists. Davis turned the ball over only once, and made five of his six free throws.
The Cardinals (3-1) won all six of their singles matches — some in dominating fashion. Five of the six matches were won in two sets. Junior Hayley Hall led the team with a victory in the No. 1 singles match, defeating IUPUI freshman and reigning Summit League Player of the Week Hunter Bullock 6-2, 7-5. The loss was Bullock's first of the season.
Each week, The Ball State Daily News sports staff picks its PPQ — the player, play and quote of the week. And, with the help of our online readers, the weekly fan choice is also featured. To vote in next week's poll, be sure to visit Monday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.
As Stan Parrish announced Ball State University's 2010 recruiting class Wednesday afternoon, he didn't shy away from heaping big expectations on his future players. Ball State signed 21 high school seniors on National Signing Day, a group that Parrish is very confident in.
Ball State had three head coaching spots to fill after the coaches in women's tennis, soccer and field hockey were all fired within a one month period in October and November.
Roberts led UT Martin to a combined record of 34-27-12 in four seasons. In the past three seasons, the Skyhawks were 19-3-1 on their home field. In his most recent season, UT Martin went 9-7-0 and won its first Ohio Valley Conference championship in program history.
If last season was a dream season for Ball State University, this one is a nightmare. The nightmare continued for Ball State (9-13, 3-6) as it lost 69-54 Wednesday night at Mid-American Conference-rival Miami University.
Heading into tonight's game against the Falcons (11-9, 4-4 MAC), the Cardinals are 3-0 against the MAC East, while the rest of the West Division has stumbled to a 3-11 combined record against its cross-divisional rivals.
The Cardinals opened the match by losing the doubles point, but not without a fight. Sophomores Zane Smith and Andres Monroy were edged 8-6 by the Wildcats' Alex Sanborn and Joshua Graves at No. 2 doubles, while Ball State's No. 1 duo of junior Eduardo Pavia and freshman Dalton Albertin lost 8-5 to Northwestern's Andrew McCarthy and Tobias Reitz.
The 28-point margin of victory is the largest for Ball State under coach Billy Taylor, and the largest since defeating the University of Northern Colorado 81-42 to open the 2006-07 season.
Over the past five games, freshman Myron Green has firmly inserted himself into coach Billy Taylor's rotation, averaging more than 22 minutes of playing time per game.
Going into Sunday's match at No. 47 Northwestern University, Ball State men's tennis coach Bill Richards knew his team would be challenged by stiff competition. Talking after the match, Richards didn't seem surprised by the results.
Through Thursday's games, the Cardinals ranked last in Division I in 3-pointers made per game. With that in mind, Toledo coach Gene Cross said his game plan was to take away Ball State center Jarrod Jones, who leads the team in scoring. The Rockets limited the sophomore to six points, but enabled Ball State's shooters to get open looks.
With Brittany McGinnis, Christie Waters and Andrea Felton now out, four of the six players from coach Dave Boos' 2008 recruiting class are now no longer with the program, joining former defensive specialist Emily Fisher, who left the team at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. Only defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra and middle blocker Jennifer Boyd remain with the team.
In the last minute of the game, the Cardinals led 66-62 when the Rockets began fouling, hoping for a few missed foul shots. Toledo did not get what they hoped for, as Ball State made seven of eight, six coming from senior guard Audrey McDonald.
Ball State posted a score of 192.85. However, the Cardinals' season-high team score was not enough to overcome the host Wildcats, who had a near flawless day to win the event with a score of 195. New Hampshire won each event to take the team title. Ball State finished in second in the uneven bars, the balance beam and the floor exercise.
In a game of runs and momentum swings, Ball State capitalized when it mattered most to cash in to pick up the victory and move above .500 on the season. The Cardinals improved to 9-8 (3-1 Mid-American Conference) while dropping the Rockets to 13-4 (3-1 MAC).
