Ball State University Athletics
Men's Tennis Upsets No. 52 Western Michigan in Fight for Share of MAC Title
April 15, 2006 | Men's Tennis
The brother duo of Tony and Jarrod Epkey began the BSU momentum when it came out on top of an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles versus WMU's Alex Birchmeier and Jose Orozco. The Broncos would then tie up the doubles matches after taking an 8-6 victory at No. 3 where BSU's Patrick Thompson and Joe Vallee took on Tim Bradshaw and Jeff French. The doubles point proved to come down to the No. 1 slot, where the 26th-ranked Matt Baccarani and Joe Epkey eventually defeated Brady Crosby and Bryan Norville 8-5.
With the Cardinals taking a 1-0 lead into singles play, Joe Epkey carried the success into his No. 2 singles match. Epkey was the first to finish off his opponent -- Orozco -- in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. Western Michigan battled back and took the No. 3 singles match where Bradshaw defeated BSU's Thompson 6-2, 6-1. Tony Epkey gave the Cardinals their third point after downing Birchmeier 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4. A few minutes later, WMU's Kevin Hayward and French threw a spark into the Broncos' fire after taking a 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5, 6-4 decision at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. With the score tied at three all, the eventual outcome would come down to the No. 1 spot, where No. 85 Baccarani and No. 113 Crosby battled their way back and forth. After Crosby took the first set 6-7 (6-8), Baccarani rallied back to capture the next two sets 6-2, 6-4.
The Cardinals look for their 19th MAC regular season title next Saturday at Northern Illinois. Match time is set for 1 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill.
#74 Ball State 4, #52 Western Michigan 3
Singles competition
1. #85 Matt Bacccarani (BSU) def. #113 Brady Crosby (WMU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-4
2. Joe Epkey (BSU) def. Jose Orozco (WMU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Tim Bradshaw (WMU) def. Patrick Thompson (BSU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Tony Epkey (BSU) def. Alex Birchmeier (WMU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Kevin Hayward (WMU) def. Jarrod Epkey (BSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Jeff French (WMU) def. Daniel Vidal (BSU) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #26 Matt Bacccarani/Joe Epkey (BSU) def. Brady Crosby/Bryan Norville (WMU) 8-5
2. Tony Epkey/Jarrod Epkey (BSU) def. Alex Birchmeier/Jose Orozco (WMU) 8-5
3. Tim Bradshaw/Jeff French (WMU) def. Patrick Thompson/Joe Vallee (BSU) 8-6
Match Notes:
Ball State 17-6, 4-0 MAC; National ranking #74
Western Michigan 22-4, 3-1 MAC; National ranking #52
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,3,4,5,6,1)
