Sept. 16, 2006
MUNCIE, Ind.-- -
The Redbirds men's tennis team will advance senior Alfredo Lagarda and junior Oscar Beich into the finals of the singles flights at the Ball State invitational.
Head coach Greg Kennett said that this has been a good overall tournament for his team.
"This weekend has been a mixture of good and bad moments," said Kennett. "We had an opportunity to see who could handle the pressure in the matches".
In singles play, Lagarda and Beich will be representing the Illinois State in the finals. In the B Flight quarterfinal, Lagarda defeated Bradley's Will Lofgren (6-0, 1-0 def.). He then defeated Sandy Berry from Butler (7-6, 6-3) to advance to the semifinals.
In the C Flight singles quarterfinal, Beich defeated Marquette's Pet Van 6-1, 6-1. Beich then posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ball State's Jimmy Brannon in the semifinals and will be advancing into the finals.
In doubles action Kennett knew that the `Birds were going to struggle.
"We have been focusing a lot on out individual play and we have not been emphasizing doubles play," said Kennett.
Despite not having much practice Tim Link and Michael Hobson advanced to the final round in the C Flight, but were defeated by Marquette doubles duo Greg Sirotek and Pet Van Lieshout (8-4).
"This has been a good weekend for us", said Kennett. "This tournament is always a good one to start the year and gives us a sense of what we need to work on."
The `Birds will look to wrap up the tournament in the finals on Sunday at the Cardinal Creek Courts in Muncie, Ind.
