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).
Junior Thekla Lorenz had the sole event victory of the day for Ball State, winning the long jump with a 5.7-meter leap. Ra'Jae Marable also had an impressive performance, posting a third place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.82 seconds.
Ball State was led by its experience in the middle. Juniors J.D. Gasparovic (16 kills, .500 hitting percentage) and Anders Nelson (13, .550) led the Cardinals' offense. On defense, Billy Ebel had a match-high 15 digs, while Nelson had eight blocks.
Junior Hayley Hall was the first to finish singles play with a relatively easy 6-0, 6-1 No. 2 singles win over Dayton's Loni Dickerhoof, setting the tone for the rest of the match to be in the Cardinals' favor. Junior Georgina Thomson (No. 4 singles), sophomore Kylee Johnson (No. 5) and freshman Lauren Pickrel (No. 6) rounded out the singles winners for Ball State.
Toledo (13-3, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) enters today's game as the favorite. The Rockets were picked the preseason favorite in the MAC and have flexed their muscle this season. Their big win this season was over No. 20 University of Dayton. Toledo enters the contest on a five-game winning streak.
The Ball State University men's and women's basketball teams host the University of Toledo today at Worthen Arena in what are pivotal games for both teams.As always, check out our live, in-game updates on Twitter and at bsudailynews.com.
The event wasn't settled until the final swim — the 400 freestyle relay. Ball State led by a hair, 143-140, going into the event, and the group of Joan Cullen, Jillian Bischoff, Nicole Saulters and Katie Bylsma (3:34.39) eventually won by six seconds, cementing the win for the Cardinals.
At approximately 950 miles away, the trip to Durham, N.H. from Muncie represents the farthest that the squad will be away from its nest this season. The extended travel will be unique for the team. The Cardinals will fly to the meet, which allows the team to take only its competitors, coach Nadalie Walsh said.
For complete coverage of Friday night's match, read Saturday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.
For complete coverage of Friday night's game, read Saturday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.
