Sept. 24, 2010
Day One Results in PDF Format 
MUNCIE, Ind. - Junior Skip Span and freshman Mya Smith-Dennis completed day one of the Ball State Invitational in Muncie, Ind., on Friday.
In Flight A singles, Span advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Northern Illinois' Maksym Lagutin in straight-sets, 6-1,6-4, before falling short to Ball State's Dalton Albertin, 3-6, 1-6. Span will only be competing in doubles for the remainder of the tournament.
Smith-Dennis, in his first action as a Redbird, fell to Ball State's Alex Doherty in the round of 16 in the singles white-flight, before defeating IPFW's Michael Kosar, 6-3,6-1, in consolation play.
Head coach Cris James feels there is room for improvement for his two competitors.
"It was not a great day mainly because there was no consistency," James said. "Skip battled in his first match but struggled in his second, and Mya the opposite. The big thing for us is that we need to be more consistent."
In Flight A doubles, Span and Smith-Dennis teamed up to defeat IPFW's Tony Kanavos and Francisco Sigaud, 8-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.
James knows what he wants to see tomorrow.
"Skip needs to play well in doubles, and Mya needs to play with passion and really compete," James said. "If we can go out and execute, we should have a good day tomorrow."
Play resumes tomorrow at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. Smith-Dennis will begin quarterfinal play in singles white-flight consolation, and will join forces with Span to compete in quarterfinal play of Flight A doubles. Matches begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.
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