MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State men's tennis team closed out the 2007 regular season with a decisive 6-1 victory over Northern Illinois in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. The victory improves the Cardinals to 10-13 overall and 4-1 in MAC play.
Ball State jumped out to an early lead as the Cardinals swept the doubles action to go ahead, 1-0. Senior Joe Epkey and classmate Jose Perdomo picked up an 8-5 victory over Adam Ford and Brian Livingston in No. 1. Junior Jarrod Epkey paired with Jose Rodriguez at the No. 2 picked up an 8-5 win over Jimmy Chu and Alex Friesen. The No. 3 duo of Joe Vallee and Jimmy Brannon closed out the doubles with an 8-4 win over Diego Legarra and Alfonso Monroy.
The Cardinals used the momentum from doubles action to claim five out of the six singles points. Joe Epkey took home a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Livingston at No. 1 while Perdomo took home the win at No. 2 against Friesen with a 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) victory.
Berryman sailed to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Chu at No. 4 and Vallee added a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Legarra. Tetta Oyama closed out the Cardinals' victories with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Monroy at No. 6. Jarrod Epkey battled at No. 3 before falling to Ford 6-3, 6-2.
Ball State will head into the 2007 Mid-American Conference Tournament off of back-to-back victories. The MAC Tournament will be held April 26-28 on the campus of IPFW.
Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 1
Final Results
Doubles
No. 1 Joe Epkey/Jose Perdomo (BSU) def. Adam Ford/Brian Livingston (NIU), 8-5
No. 2 Jarrod Epkey/Jose Rodriquez (BSU) def. Jimmy Chu/Alex Friesen (NIU), 8-5
No. 3 Joe Vallee/Jimmy Brannon (BSU) def. Deigo Legarra/Alfonso Monroy (NIU), 8-4
Singles
No. 1 Joe Epkey (BSU) def. Brian Livingston (NIU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Jose Perdomo (BSU) def. Alex Friesen (NIU), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 3 Adam Ford (NIU) def. Jarrod Epkey (BSU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 Bret Berryman (BSU) def. Jimmy Chu (NIU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 Joe Vallee (BSU) def. Diego Legarra (NIU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 Tetta Oyama (BSU) def. Alfonso Monroy (NIU), 7-5, 6-1
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