Ball State women's tennis (7-7, 0-2 MAC) closed out its weekend of Mid-American Conference play with another loss. The team lost a close match to Bowling Green (10-5, 2-0 MAC) Sunday afternoon, 4-3.
Although starting off MAC play 0-2 is not ideal with losses to Miami and Bowling Green, head coach Max Norris saw improvement in his team in the matches over the weekend, specifically in doubles play.
RELATED: Ball State women's tennis drops first match of MAC play to Miami
“We really challenged the team to come out with energy and excitement in doubles and they responded and won a very hard-fought doubles point,” Norris said.
Junior Peyton Gollhoger and freshman Victoria Sec had a 6-1 victory in doubles play to start the match off strong. However, it was the No. 2 doubles team of junior Audrey Berger and sophomore Rebecca Herrington that clinched the point with a 7-6 (5) victory.
In the match against Bowling Green, singles play came down to a few key variables that Norris felt his team came up just short in.
“We got off to decent starts, but [Bowling Green] really stuck around and it just ended up being a thing where the people we had that lost didn’t put up enough of a fight, didn’t get a set or make it last a little longer,” Norris said. “And the matches we did win, we couldn’t close it out in straight sets… just those little things overall added up.”
In singles play, Herrington and Berger each defeated their opponent in a thrilling three sets. Berger won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and Herrington recorded a victory with scores of 5-1, 3-6 and 6-2. However, the Falcons went on to ultimately beat the Cardinals after taking the last four courts.
“We came out with more energy and aggression across all courts, which is something we really didn’t have against Miami”, said Norris, “and we did a much better job when playing from behind.”
The MAC season continues on Friday, as Ball State travels to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to take on Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are currently 11-4, with a 1-1 record in the MAC. First serve in Ypsilanti is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Contact Chance Iles with comments at cwiles@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @ChanceIles.
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