A little luck and some crafty play earned Ball State a key 4-3 victory over Xavier on St. Patrick’s Day. With the win, Ball State improved to 9-6 on the season.
Once again the Cardinals got behind early as they dropped the doubles point. The senior duo of Dalton Albertin and Alexandre Brym recorded the sole doubles victory at the No. 3 spot.
Albertin and Brym took that victory and carried the momentum gained straight into singles action.
Brym played his first match of the season at the No. 5 spot, but it didn’t seem to faze him as he cruised to a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win.
Previously this season Albertin struggled at the No. 3 spot, as he came into the match with a 1-4 record there. It didn’t seem to bother him this time around.
“I felt confident that the matchup was pretty good for me, throughout the match I felt pretty good out there,” Albertin said.
He looked comfortable in the first set as he took it 6-3 before quickly falling behind 4-1 in the second. Instead of throwing the set away and focusing on winning the third, Albertin hung tough and broke his opponents serve twice to even the score at four games apiece. He then went on to break again before serving the match out.
“I kind of weathered the storm, he was a little bit of a hot-cold player too; so him getting up 4-1 that quick was just him playing really well,” Albertin said.
Sophomores Ray Leonard (No. 1) and Patrick Elliot (No. 6) recorded the other two points to seal the deal.
The victory is arguably the best the Cardinals have recorded all year.
“It was a good win, you look at Xavier and they had only lost two matches all year,” coach Bill Richards said. “To lose the doubles point and come back and win four singles matches fairly routine was a very solid effort out of our part.”
The Musketeers provided a stiff test for the Cardinals as they prepare to begin Mid-American Conference play in two weeks.
“I know their players very well, [and] respect them a lot,” Richards said. “We consider them similar to just another very good MAC team, we knew we were going to have play a good match to beat them.”
