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The Ball State men's tennis went into its matchup with Toledo on Thursday knowing it was going to have a fight on its hands.
Like the Cardinals, the Rockets had a 1-1 record in the Mid-American Conference. This time, Toledo was looking for revenge after its 4-1 loss to Ball State last year in the MAC Tournament finals.
Both teams battled back-and-forth throughout the course of the match, but Ball State prevailed in the end. It defeated Toledo 4-3 and moved its conference record to 2-1, keeping its MAC regular season title hopes alive.
"We played good in spots and not so good in spots," head coach Bill Richards said. "We dug ourselves a hole in doubles, and that was what I was upset about. I thought we came out flat with no energy, lack of focus, lack of emotion; everything you need in doubles. As for singles, I thought everyone did a good job. I thought we did much better in singles as far as the things I'm looking for."
Freshman Ray Leonard is one player that didn't lack in effort or intensity. Whether it was hitting a big serve or pumping his fist after a big point, Leonard was full of energy. As a result, he won his No. 1 doubles match with junior Dalton Albertin 8-3 over Leo Sarria and Tomas Stillman and his No. 2 singles match 7-5, 6-3 over Sarria.
"I knew they were going to be tough matches coming in because once you get into the MAC season, it's worth that much more," Leonard said. "Every point counts. I think I was totally focused on giving my all. In that second set with Sarria, I got really fired up and started playing my game a little bit better."
Sophomore Austin Smith also came up big for the Cardinals. With the team up 3-0 and needing only one point to win, Smith provided that point with his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Terence Weigand in No.4 singles.
"I've been trying to be more crucial and a bigger contributor to our team," Smith said. "I think recently I've been relying on everyone else to carry me, and not really expecting myself to win and expecting others to win. I think winning today is definitely a big confidence booster, and any win I can get in the conference season is pretty big."
Richards said as Ball State prepares to play Western Michigan on Saturday, he hopes it can bring a little more energy and play each point as hard as it can.
"Other than that, when it's over, you individually try to evaluate what you did, what you could've done better and what you need to work on," he said.
Ball State's matchup with Western Michigan begins at 1 p.m. at the Sorensen Courts/West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich.
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