After two victories on Saturday, the Ball State University men's tennis team finished the month of February with a 6-1 record, winning its last six matches in a row.
The Cardinals swept their doubleheader Saturday with a 7-0 win over IUPUI followed by a 6-1 victory over Detroit Mercy University at the Muncie Northwest YMCA Tennis Center.
"These wins definitely give us momentum moving forward," Cliff Morrison said. "It builds our confidence and was very important to us. The biggest thing was these wins were convincing and that is very important especially after a slow start."
Against IUPUI, Ball State was able to play all 11 players that were active for Saturday's matches.
"IUPUI was a nice team win for us," coach Bill Richards said. "We were able to get everyone some playing time and still won 7-0. All 11 guys contributed and that's always nice to see in this sport."
Detroit Mercy came into Saturday's action riding a three-match win streak with one win coming against Mid-American Conference opponent University of Toledo.
Despite the tougher competition, Ball State took care of business, winning four of its singles matches in straight sets.
"Detroit was definitely a stronger team," Richards said. "They are very good at the top of the lineup. We had a couple of close matches, but we had control from start to finish."
Richards attributes Saturday's performance to the team's effort during practice.
"Day in and day out I am impressed with their work ethic and commitment in practice," Richards said. "Everyone has the ability to contribute when called upon. We have a solid group across the board."
With the recent success, the team is preparing itself for a deep MAC Tournament run.
"We can definitely match up with anyone in the conference," Morrison said. "We won't be the favorites in the tournament – that will be Western Michigan. But after the results we have posted lately, they will be scared of us. Our early games in the year didn't reflect the time of team we are."
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