In the span of 48 hours, Ball State went from feeling good about its 7-0 win Friday over Northern Illinois, to heart ache after its 4-3 loss at Toledo Sunday.
All the bounces went the Cardinals' way as they won all the close matches against the Huskies.
The Cardinals couldn't catch a break and lost all the crucial points against the Rockets.
"It hurts a lot," coach Bill Richards said. "You don't sleep well afterward. You think about all the what-ifs. [You] just have to move on from it."
Toledo took the doubles point, and won two of three matches. From there, the Rockets took the three closest singles matches.
The Rockets won at No. 2, 3 and 5 singles, with all three matches going three sets.
"That was the best team they ever had," Richards said. "They had the whole team back from last year."
Sophomore Dalton Albertin won in three sets at No. 1 singles, along with junior Zane Smith at No. 4 in straight sets.
Junior Andres Monroy won at No. 6 as after his opponent had to retire because of cramps.
Ball State no longer controls its own destiny to win the Mid-American Conference regular season title. After the loss, Ball State moves to 10-12 (1-1 MAC) while Toledo has a perfect 3-0 MAC record.
Even if Ball State wins its three remaining conference matches, Toledo would have to drop one of its last two. Ball State is in third place behind Toledo and Western Michigan.
Ball State will take a break from MAC play Wednesday when it travels to Butler.
"We look forward to Butler," Richards said. "We'll see how we bounce back on Wednesday."
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