When former Ball State University men's tennis player Joe Epkey won the 2007 Five Seasons/Aquafina Indiana State Championships Sunday it continued a monumental summer.
Joe defeated fellow Cardinal alumnus Matt Laramore 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. The victory came less than a month after Joe was married on June 8.
However, Joe said the new relationship with his wife, Maggie, has changed the way he views the game he loves.
"It puts things in perspective because tennis isn't as important compared to marriage," Joe said. "It takes pressure off me to win because there are other things that are more important than winning."
The question for Epkey now is whether he will continue playing tennis or settle down with his new wife and leave his playing days behind.
"I don't know how much longer I'm going to actually be playing tournaments," Joe said. "I can definitely see myself practicing and training full time. I haven't ruled out a tennis career. But I'd say it's up in the air right now."
If he decides to pursue a career, Joe said he has no doubt in his tennis ability. Joe went undefeated in No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles at the 2007 Mid-American Conference tournament. In his Ball State career, Joe was a two-time All-MAC First Team Selection and won the 2007 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year this spring.
Cardinals coach Bill Richards said he's shown the ability to continue playing tennis at the next level.
"I think he has the type of ability to play professionally," Richards said. "Some things in his game need to continue to improve, but he has a huge serve and he's a very good athlete."
While Joe credits the relationship with his wife for relieving on-court pressure, it may be the thing that keeps him from beginning a professional career. Low-level professional tennis does not provide good income, Joe said.
However, Richards said the only way to earn a high paycheck is to work up the ranks.
"To really make it in the pro level you have to play pro events," Richards said. "You start out at the futures level, which is like Single-A baseball for tennis. Then you work through the challenger level and eventually make it to ATP tour events. So there's only about 150 players in the world that make a good living playing tennis."
Another obstacle is the amount of time Joe would have to give to the sport.
"I definitely have the ability to play professionally," Joe said. "It would just come down to whether I would completely commit to it. That's the only way it would be possible."
Joe said the earliest he would be able to fully commit to a career is next summer. Maggie has one more year of college eligibility left at Indiana State, and Joe is working as a tennis instructor in Evansville.
And if Joe decides not to pursue a professional career, he said he would still be involved with tennis.
"No matter what happens, I plan on staying in tennis," Joe said. "That's all I've ever wanted to do, really. Coaching is something I could do for a very long time. I don't see myself ever getting out of it."
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