Despite his teams 1-2 performance at the Boise State Invitational this weekend, Ball State University men's tennis coach Bill Richards said he saw his team moving in the right direction.
"It was a good weekend," Richards said. "For us the key thing is to get everyone to play good matches at the same time. We need the team to be clicking on all cylinders. Everyone has played good tennis at one point in the year, now we have to put it all together."
The Cardinals lost their opening round match to No. 65 Wichita State University Friday, 4-2, with the victories coming from the team's freshman. At No. 2 singles, Eduardo Pavia won 7-6, 6-2 while the No. 5 singles match was claimed by Shaun Bussert 6-2, 6-2.
Losing the first round dropped Ball State into the losers bracket, facing a 2-10 University of Nevada squad Friday night. In winning 5-2, the Cardinals won all of their points from singles victories. The singles loss came at the No. 1 spot when Jose Perdomo dropped the match 6-3, 6-2, to Laurent Garcin.
Sitting at 1-1, Ball State lost the deciding match against the University of Portland 5-2 Saturday afternoon. The team's singles play was a mirror opposite of the Nevada match, winning one point from the six matches. That victory came from Bussert, moving his mark to 3-0 on the weekend with the 6-2, 6-2 win.
Richards said it is no surprise to see Bussert and Pavia winning.
"Regardless of who it is, seeing guys make progress is what we are looking for," Richards said. "Pavia has been playing high and he continues to win. Bussert has been taking opportunities given to him and has been excelling."
Pavia and Bussert proved to be a strong freshmen force at Boise State going a combined 5-1 in singles play. Their victories made up five of the team's eight total points in the tournament.
"I think it is a good confidence boost for Eduardo and I," Bussert said. "We are demonstrating we can get the points we need at those positions."
Bussert said his play has not changed much, despite his 5-0 singles record since the March 13 match against IUPUI.
"There's not really that much of a difference [in my play]," Bussert said. "There were some things I needed to work out, but it's now falling into place."
The Cardinals start Mid-American Conference play Thursday against Chicago State University, a MAC affiliate. After getting a few wins and competing well, Richards said, the most important part of the season begins Thursday.
"Everything we have done has been to help with conference season," Richards said. "Our main goal is to win the conference. We remain short-handed and we are an underdog, but we will continue to do everything we can to bring a championship back to Ball State."
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