Though the Ball State University men's tennis team lost Saturday, the team saw some encouraging signs on the court, coach Bill Richards said.
Ball State lost to No. 34 University of Kentucky 4-3, as the Cardinals fell to 3-5 on the season. Ball State won the No. 4 through 6 singles matches and the No. 1 doubles match.
"It was our best performance of the year," Richards said. "We played more of the way we need to play, with the intensity and a lot of emotion."
Another positive for the Cardinals was that junior Jarrod Epkey returned from a lower back injury, which kept him from playing the previous three weeks.
Epkey and sophomore Joe Vallee lost in No. 3 doubles to Roman Ogarkov and Marcus Sundh of Kentucky 8-6.
"I didn't think I played as good as I could have played," Epkey said. "But with the conditions and the timing I had to work with, I thought that I played well."
Epkey has practiced about six hours since he last played against Northwestern University on Jan. 19. It was unfortunate that the weather was bad and the team could not practice more this week, but it is not an excuse, he said.
"Obviously it's a disappointment, but we are going to take it and learn from it and try to build on it," Epkey said.
Epkey said the match came down to a couple of points in a couple close matches.
Richards said he was happy with the combination of Epkey and Vallee.
"I thought he played really well, I thought they played well as a team," Richards said. "I thought Jarrod played the best I could have hoped for."
Prior to his injury, Epkey had been playing No. 1 doubles with his brother, senior Joe Epkey. Jarrod Epkey was also playing No. 3 singles, but he did not play in singles Saturday.
Jarrod Epkey will most likely not play both singles and doubles during the same weekend for the next few weeks, Richards said. He said he will consult with Jarrod Epkey and the team trainer prior to making his decision.
"I would error on the side of being conservative rather than too aggressive at this point," Richards said.
Richards said he will not push Jarrod Epkey in order to save him for the Mid-American Conference season.
"I feel like I am ready to go, physically," Jarrod Epkey said. "Even though I may not be 100 percent yet, I'm still ready to go."
Jarrod Epkey said the pain in his back had its ups and downs and depended on the movements that he made. He said he now just hopes that his back continues to get better.
"I just got to deal with it, move on and take it and do what you can do physically," Jarrod Epkey said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
