Despite losses from its No. 1 and 2 singles players, the Ball State men's tennis team managed to pull off a 5-2 road win over Xavier on Saturday.
With the win, the Cardinals improve their record to 3-2 on the season.
"It was a good win," Ball State coach Bill Richards said. "I thought we played really well. It was a very tough, hard-fought match. It was exactly what I expected, and we really came through in pressure situations."
One of those pressure situations happened to junior Alex Brym. After losing his first set and being down in the second set, Brym fought back and picked up a crucial win for the Cardinals. He defeated Xavier's Brandon MacDonald 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"He was down a set in the break," Richards said. "It was about that time it looked like Dalton Albertin might lose, Zane Smith was losing and Brym was losing.
"That was a pretty significant result for Brym to be able to turn things around and close out some matches since he's had some difficulty at times in the past."
After being named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week on Wednesday, freshman Ray Leonard continued to have success. In No. 3 singles, he defeated Xavier's Richard Canelas 7-5, 6-7, 6-2. In No. 1 doubles, he and partner Dalton Albertin defeated Mesa Mei and Jimmy Roebker 8-6.
"He [Canelas] has had a ton more experiences than I have," Leonard said. "And he brought so much power that he would overpower me for much of the match. So he was tough to play against in the big points. I just had to treat it like one point at a time, play the big points as well as I could and know that he was throwing the kitchen sink at me on some of the points down the stretch.
"I got a really good start in the third set, too. I proved that I was willing to be out there all day."
In addition to Brym and Leonard, sophomore Austin Smith and freshman Patrick Elliott picked up key wins for Ball State. In No. 5 singles, Smith defeated Xavier's Philip Diaz 6-2, 6-0. At the No. 6 spot, Elliott defeated Freddy Abunku 6-3, 6-2.
Looking forward to their upcoming matches, Leonard said the team needs to keep working as hard as it can.
"This win is something we can build off of, and we get some momentum moving forward," he said. "I'd say our mentality going into our next match is going to be important. If we can place an emphasis on taking care of business, staying positive and staying focused, I think that's going to translate into the match."
Ball State will return to action on Saturday when it plays Detroit at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center. First serve is at 2 p.m.
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