In the heart of the February 2006 dual-match season, more than 100 fans gathered to support three Ball State University brothers as they stepped onto the Indiana University tennis courts.
Senior Jarrod Epkey, and his two older brothers Joe Epkey and Tony Epkey, grew up in Greenwood, a 45-minute drive from Bloomington, their whole lives but never expected to have their friends, family and alumni outnumber the Indiana fan base 3-to-1.
"It made it feel like home," Jarrod said. "When you have that support, it makes you feel more confident, win or lose, because you have faith that it will be there."
With that confidence, the three Epkey brothers competed on and off the court their entire lives, proving one thing to everyone who has seen their bond.
To the Epkeys, Ball State tennis isn't a sport; it's a family affair.
FROM BACKYARD TO BSU
The question of who is the best tennis player between the three Epkey brothers is an easy answer for Joe.
"They might not think so, but I'm the best," he said with a laugh.
Considering each brother has devoted at least 17 years of his life to tennis, Jarrod said it's a commonly asked question.
"If anyone asks any of us three who is the best, every one of our hands would raise up because we felt we were the best," Jarrod said.
That competition has always defined the relationship the Epkey brothers share. Tony, 24, the oldest of the brothers, said he remembers throughout their childhood, sports were the ground where they would challenge each other to get better. Their competitiveness drove their brotherly fighting from inside their home to the playing field.
"In our younger years I was better simply because of age," Tony said. "I gave them something to shoot for, a goal to attain and a standard to set. I guess I acted as the motivating factor for their performance."
As they grew up, the three Epkey brothers would frequently contend for the same purpose. When it was time to compete, their relationship was put off to the side.
"There were definitely the bad times, like in college where we were competing for lineup spots," Jarrod said. "That was always one of those times when we said, 'I'm not going to let my brother play ahead of me.' That's always been a huge thing. Even throughout high school we wanted the coach to feel like we were the best on the team."
Tennis wasn't the only sport the Epkey brothers competed in growing up. Everything - from baseball, basketball, football and soccer - found its way into the Epkeys athletics repertoire, but as they entered high school, tennis was the only sport that stuck.
"I asked myself, 'do I want to be just average at a bunch of sports, or do I want to be good at one sport.'" Jarrod said. "Tennis was my pride, so I took what I was best at and tried to use the ability I had."
Jarrod finished his senior year at Center Grove High School with a 22-2 record in singles and he won the state singles championship.
His college career started at the University of Southern Indiana, - a Division II School - with his brother Joe. As a member of the Eagles tennis team, the two brothers formed the No. 2-ranked doubles combination in the nation among Division II pairs.
Lacking a competitive challenge, Jarrod and Joe decided to transfer to Ball State, where their brother Tony was already attending.
Three years later, Jarrod is the last brother at Ball State. Coach Bill Richards, who has won 19 MAC championships in 35 years of coaching, said coaching the trio of brothers would always have a spot in his memories of Ball State tennis.
"It was definitely one of the most rewarding things I have had in my coaching experiences," he said.
GROWING PAINS
During the Fall of 2005, Jarrod said he started to notice a sharp pain in his back that affected his play.
He ignored it the best he could, playing to a 4-5 singles record and recording a 9-3 doubles record, with his brother Tony as his partner.
The pain kept increasing, however, and during a match against conference rival Western Michigan University Jarrod finally decided he had to do something to numb his throbbing back.
"I took 12 aspirin and I threw it all up," Jarrod said. "I think I had too much in my system for me to handle."
An MRI showed that Jarrod had a torn disc in his lower back.
"There is no real knowledge of when it happened or how it happened," Jarrod said. "It just gradually started getting worse, to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. It could of came from overuse and over-play or lifting weights the wrong way. Back injuries are weird like that."
Almost more frustrating than the back injury to Jarrod was his inability to play tennis at full strength. Like his brothers, Jarrod said he always prided himself on being one of the hardest workers at practice.
However, his back prevents him from putting forth what he views as maximum effort on a daily basis.
"I want to work as hard as I can in practice because that is when you are supposed to get the job done," Jarrod said. "I don't want to ever not work as hard as some of the other guys do, or better yet, any other guy in the country."
Both Tony and Joe have watched their brother struggle with his back pains throughout the past couple years. The two brothers used to push Jarrod to make him perform better, but now as they watch from the stands, it leaves both with a helpless feeling.
"I want him to end on a strong note," Joe said. "It has been frustrating for both him playing and me wanting him to do well. I wish I could do more. I always follow his results and keep rooting him on even though I'm not there."
Tony, who also follows Jarrod's collegiate career closely, has a deeper sentiment for what his brother is enduring. Tony said he has great pride in the way his youngest brother has handled the adversity of his injury.
"He's playing hurt with a back injury-he's tough," Tony said. "Now he is playing through the pain. I have a lot of pride knowing he's doing the best he can."
Being one of two seniors on the team, Jarrod said he knows he must be a leader for this years men's tennis squad and help lead the team to its 20th MAC championship 23 years. Despite his injury, Jarrod said he is ready to give his team what it needs from him in his last year with the program.
"It seems like a MAC title comes down to two or three points over the season," Jarrod said. "It is times like those where doing the right things in practice really pay off. If we blink, and we are not together as a team, that chain and bond we are supposed to be creating is going to affect everything. I, as a senior, have realized that I am going to have to put the weight of the team on my shoulders, and I am OK with that."
THE EPKEY LEGACY
The men's tennis team will have an Epkey on its roster for the last time this season. Each brother may have gone his separate way, but their paths are still connected to each other and to tennis.
Tony is now married and teaching at the Indianapolis Tennis Center, while living in Indianapolis. After graduating last year, Joe tried to concentrate his life on a job instead of tennis. But, like his brothers, he is bound to the game and is currently traveling around the country trying to earn a spot on the professional tennis tour.
After this year Jarrod, who switched majors his junior year, will graduate with a degree in general studies. He said he is unsure of his plans for the future and if the torn disc in is back will allow tennis to be a part of it.
"I am just taking it one day at a time," Jarrod said. "For the past week or so it has actually felt pretty good."
Forgetting about his injury, Jarrod said he is trying to finish the legacy his brothers started.
"I think me, some of the rest of the team, and other alumni, hope that the greatest thing that is remembered with us Epkey's is that when they stepped on the court, they put it all out there and they weren't ever going to give up," he said
Now the crowd of support continues to grow with the addition of Tony and Joe as they follow their little brothers endeavors in the one game they all love. Remembering all the memories, Jarrod said he looks forward to his senior year and ending his collegiate career on a high note.
"It's pretty cool to have two brothers in college with you at the same time," Jarrod said. "But even Ball State has to come to an end. As we get together, it is kind of cool just to talk about it all and to reflect on how cool it was to play with each other in the same place. To have two brothers along your side the whole way is a great thing."
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