March 1, 2014
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Illinois State men's tennis team was victorious in a tight non-conference battle against Ball State, edging the Cardinals, 4-3, while on the road.
"We definitely did not play our best today, but credit goes to these guys for continuing to fight and find a way to win," head coach Mark Klysner said. "The guys had to dig deep today. We're going to have to play a lot better tomorrow to have a chance in beating nationally-ranked Indiana."
After losing the doubles point, the Redbirds (5-3) picked up the pace to defeat the Cardinals in four of the six singles matches.
In Doubles No. 1, Jakob Eisner and Rolando Torellas fell to Ray Leonard and Austin Smith, 8-7, while Jacob Wilson and Urh Krajnc Domiter fell to Elliot and Stutz, 8-2, in Doubles No. 2. Muddappa Appanervanda and Rodrigo Oliveira beat Lucas Anderson and Patrick Downs, 8-5, in Doubles No. 3 to mark the only doubles win for ISU.
In singles play, the Redbirds dominated in four matches, turning the competition around in their favor. BSU was victorious in only two matches, including Singles No. 1, where Wilson fell to Elliot, 6-1, 6-2, and in Singles No. 4, where Krajnc was edged by Andersen in a third-set tie-breaker, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
In the No. 2 position, Eisner beat Leonard, 6-3, 6-2, and Appanervanda defeated Smith, also in a third-set tie-breaker, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, in Singles No. 3. In the No. 5 position, Torrellas beat Stutz, 6-3, 7-6, and in the No. 6 position, Oliveira beat Downs, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, in a third-set tie-breaker.
The Redbirds continue their road trip against No. 58 Indiana Sunday in Bloomington, Ind.
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