Ball State is still alive for the Mid-American Conference Tournament title after beating Northern Illinois 4-0 in the MAC quarterfinal.
Ball State is rewarded with a semifinal match with MAC regular season champion Western Michigan Friday at 10 a.m.
The No. 4 seed Cardinals grabbed control of the match against the No. 5 seed Huskies in doubles and kept the momentum going in singles action.
"It went as well as it could have," coach Bill Richards said. "Northern Illinois hasn't had a lot of success in doubles this year. We were ready to play. Good performance across the board."
Senior Shaun Bussert teamed up with Austin Sansone at No. 3 for an 8-1 win. Juniors Andres Monroy and Cliff Morrison won at No. 2 8-3.
The first doubles match did not finish as Ball State already had the two wins needed for the point. Juniors Zane Smith and Derek Carpenter were winning at No. 1 7-4 when the other two matches went final.
The Cardinals played this match without their best player as sophomore Dalton Albertin sat out due to an illness.
"He played sick at Buffalo," Richards said. "He has not hit a ball since last Friday until today. We are hopeful he can play tomorrow."
Smith filled in for Albertin at No. 1 singles but his match did not finish as Bussert, Sansone, and Monroy routed their opponents in straight sets for the four points.
Monroy won at No. 4 6-1, 6-1. Sansone won at No. 5 6-0, 6-2. Bussert won at No. 6 6-0, 6-2.
"There strength was at the top of their line-up," Richards said. "Those matches were tougher."
Bussert, the only senior who played for Ball State, was called to play No. 6 singles because of Albertin's absence.
"We chose him because of his experience," Richards said. "He did a nice job."
The Cardinals now have the tough task of upsetting the Broncos on their campus. Western Michigan went undefeated in conference play including beating Ball State 7-0 on April 16.
"We know we have our work cut out for us," Richards said. "Strange things happen in matches like this."
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