Ball State University wanted to test themselves against elite competition during the fall season to see how they stack up. The results show the Cardinals still have a way to go.
"It was very disappointing," coach Bill Richards said. "It was a very poor performance."
Ball State struggled in the Intercollegiate Tennis Regional this weekend in Bloomington. Junior Eduardo Pavia and sophomore Andres Monroy had the unlucky break of drawing the No. 1 and No. 7 seeds in the first round of the tournament. Pavia, Monroy, and freshman Dalton Albertin, who filled in for an injured Cliff Morrison, were eliminated in the first round. The seven Cardinals in the qualifying tournament didn't do any better, having to drop down to the consolation bracket. Only there did Ball State players find success in singles against players from Murray State University.
"We definitely had some tough draws," Richards said. "Pavia, Monroy, and Albertin lost to good players. The seven guys in the qualifying tournament didn't do very well either. They had a chance to lay a claim to the line-up spot and that didn't really happen."
Ball State had a tough outing in the doubles bracket as well, a typical team strength. Monroy and sophomore Zane Smith were the only Ball State duo to advance past the first round with a victory over a tandem from IUPUI. Ball State dropped their other four doubles matches in the first round.
The regional championships shifted from last year as Ball State is now in the Ohio Valley Regional instead of the Midwest Regional. There are now 12 regional championships as opposed to eight last year. The Ohio Valley Regional has more schools from Southern states like Kentucky and Tennessee. Ball State was one of the Northern-most teams in the regional.
The biggest positive for Richards this weekend was that he got to spend some time with good friends and former Cardinal coaches Bill Lynch (football) and Tim Buckley (basketball) in Bloomington. Both are now coaches at Indiana University.
Now that the fall season is over, Richards only has eight hours per week to work with players as opposed to the 20 hours during the season.
"I would like to play more if we could," Richards said. "We've got to get better. The burden of responsibility is now with the players."
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