In round No. 5 of its 13-game hiatus from Muncie, the men's tennis team suffered another loss to a nationally-ranked opponent. Saturday, No. 24 Indiana State defeated the Cardinals 7-0 in Terre Haute. The Cardinals (2-6) failed to win a single game as the Sycamores won all six of the singles matches and all three doubles matches.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match going in," head coach Bill Richards said. "We played pretty well given the circumstances. I can't be too critical of our play."
The loss is the sixth straight for Ball State and marks just the second time this season the team has failed to register any points. The Cardinals lost 7-0 to Michigan State two weeks ago. Richards said despite the score of the match, the team is not struggling with confidence.
"It's not like everyone has lost all of his matches," Richards said. "We take it all very individually and face every match like it is the first match of the year."
After the Sycamores (4-4) shut out Ball State in doubles play, only two of the six Cardinals won a set during singles play. Freshmen Matt Laramore and Brad Rhodes opened their respective No. 5 and No. 6 matches with wins, only to lose the following two sets.
"They've been very competitive in their matches, for the most part," Richards said. "They're playing at the lower-level games, which helps out.
"But no question about it, we have to win at No. 1 and No. 2 spots."
Senior Jason Pressel dropped his match at No. 1 singles, and Richards said he has struggled with consistency. Despite his lop-sided loss, Pressel "took a step forward, even though the score did not show it."
Richards said despite the team's "over-scheduling" against ranked opponents, the team is not giving up.
"We have to take a very, very simple approach," he said. "The only thing we can do is go to work every day and get better.
"I'm not disappointed in the effort. We're just disappointed in the result."
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