Despite a strong start in doubles play, the Ball State men’s tennis team suffered its first loss of the season Sunday. Visiting Cleveland State left the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center with a 2-5 victory over Ball State.
The Cardinals began with two doubles victories against the Vikings. Juniors Ray Leonard and Patrick Elliott defeated Ali Shabib and Joe VanMeter by a score of 6-4.
Senior-freshman duo Lucas Andersen and Austin Smith finished second defeating Matt Kuelker and Nolan Marks by a score of 6-3. Going into singles play, Cleveland State swiftly stole Ball State’s momentum.
“Going into the match, I thought it would come down to the wire,” Ball State men’s tennis coach Bill Richards said. “Unfortunately, it did not end up that way.”
Ball State’s only singles win came from Elliott, defeating Jorg Van Der Vloet in two of three sets, 5-6 (4), 6-2, 10-7.
“Our biggest problem today was losing big points in pressure situations,” Richards said. “We were out-toughed.”
Ball State, now 2-1 overall, takes on Michigan State, ranked 49, Saturday. Coach Richards plans to make the most of this week’s practices.
“Michigan State is a much better team than Cleveland State,” Richards said. “We need to look in the mirror and do a self-evaluation in order to perform better.”
The Spartans are currently 2-3 having fallen to No. 34 North Carolina State and No. 6 Tennessee. Ball State’s next home game is 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the YMCA Tennis Center.
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