Christine Stromberg made the most of an opportunity to play against her hometown college.
Stromberg, from the Chicago area, was the only Ball State University player to record a victory as DePaul University defeated the Cardinals 6-1 Sunday.
The freshman came from behind to win the first set against Anja Mihaldinec 7-5. The comeback was propelled by Stromberg's strong serve and the ability to keep the ball in play and let Mihaldinec commit unforced errors. Stromberg said she also took advantage of Mihaldinec's weak backhand.
"I kind of got in a groove and knew how I was going to play the points out," Stromberg said. "My serve was working out for me pretty well and I got a lot of free points out of that."
Stromberg, playing No. 6 singles, won the second set 6-2.
"I'm happy with the way I played," she said. "It's kind of unfortunate that our team lost. I'm glad that I can bring something out of the match to help us get better and make our team stronger."
Coach Kathy Bull said she was impressed with Stromberg's play.
"She has been overhitting and taking herself out of a lot of good situations," Bull said. "She didn't do that today. She played smarter and put a lot more balls in play. That's all we're asking players to do. Give yourself every opportunity to win."
It was a long day for the rest of the team, with no other players taking a set in their match. Haly Calderwood continued to struggle at No. 1 singles, falling to Dunja Antunovic 6-0, 6-0.
After playing well in the fall on outdoor courts, Bull said Calderwood has struggled adjusting to playing indoors.
"There's something psychological going on," Bull said. "She said 'It feels like people are steamrolling me [indoors].' Indoors, you don't have two or three [shots] to play around with. Points start immediately. That's kind of throwing her rhythm off and everyone else is jumping all over her."
Jennifer Pollack also struggled, losing 6-1, 6-1 to Beatrix Csordas. Sophie Quist lost 6-3, 6-1 to Petra Rehusova. Bull said the Cardinals need to carry their practice play into matches.
"We're just not executing," Bull said. "We can do more with the first couple balls. We work on it daily at practice. We came out here and we didn't do that today. I just got to get their attention in a little bit different way."
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