The Ball State men's tennis team came into its three weekend matchups in Dayton, Ohio, looking to build on a six-game winning streak.
Ball State got its wish by defeating Army 4-3, Air Force 6-1 and Lipscomb 6-1.
"We had a great weekend," coach Bill Richards said. "We came through in different situations in different matches. I thought these were three good teams we played this weekend and to get three more solid wins is a good accomplishment for this team early in the year."
Ball State's opening matchup against Army on Saturday came down to singles play. The Cardinals went down 0-1 in the match after losing the doubles point. Junior Dalton Albertin and freshman Ray Leonard lost 8-5 in No. 1 doubles to Asika Isoh and Henry Jang-Milsten. Sophomore Austin Smith and junior Austin Sansone lost 8-6 at the No. 3 spot to Alex Holland and Rommel Verano.
However, four of Ball State's six singles players won their matches, clinching the win for Ball State.
"It shows a lot of toughness and character, what we were able to do," Richards said. "I told them after the doubles point that it was just another test and we're not going to win all the doubles points. When we don't win them, we have to be tough enough to put it behind us and not get discouraged. That's exactly what we did."
Leading the way were Leonard and senior Zane Smith. Leonard extended his winning streak to seven matches by defeating Alex Van Velzer 6-4, 6-2 in No. 2 singles. Smith continued his momentum from the Illinois State win with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Holland in No. 3 singles.
"In the match against Army, it was finding a way to win," Smith said. "I didn't play the style that I normally play. I was just trying to do anything that I could to win the match."
In its Saturday evening matchup against Air Force, Ball State had a chance to wrap up the match before finishing it on Sunday. Ball State did that by winning five of its six singles matches.
Leonard extended his streak of wins at the No. 2 singles spot by defeating Andy Jackson 6-4, 6-1. Smith also earned a 6-2, 6-1 win over Landon Kinsey.
The final match for Ball State on Sunday was against Lipscomb. Ball State had great success again in singles play. The Cardinals won five of its six matches.
Leonard and Smith were both stellar again with a 6-1, 6-0 win over David Salazar and a 6-0, 6-2 win over Daniel Hernandez, respectively. Austin Smith won his eighth match in a row by defeating Stuart Tierney 6-4, 6-2.
Richards said he wants to closely monitor his team's stamina going forward.
"We're in recovery mode right now with two very grueling weekends in a row," Richards said. "Number one priority is to assess where everyone is physically and go from there."
Ball State will return to action on Friday when it will play Eastern Illinois and Indiana Tech. The matches will start at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, in the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center.
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