Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
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Western Michigan
Men's Tennis Upsets Top Seeded Western Michigan, 4-3
April 29, 2011 | Men's Tennis
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - - The fourth seeded Ball State men's tennis team stunned Mid-American Conference regular season champion and top seeded Western Michigan Friday afternoon, with a thrilling 4-3 victory in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament Championships at WMU's Sorenson Courts at the Western Hills Athletic Club.
"Today was an example of finding a way to win four points," said Ball State head coach Bill Richards. "This was a four-and-a-half hour battle that could have went either way, and we were fortunate to get through it with a win. There is no time to celebrate, however, as we have to get ready for a tough match tomorrow. That is all were are focusing on now."
Ball State returns to the MAC Tournament Championship match for the first time since the 2008 season and is looking for its first tournament title since 2005 when it won at WMU's Sorenson Courts. The Cardinals will face the winner of No. 2 Toledo versus No. 3 Buffalo at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Sorenson Courts.
After losing 7-0 to the Broncos in a match played in the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center April 16, the Cardinals thrived on the outdoor surface at the Western Hills Athletic Club, pulling out to an early 1-0 advantage by earning the doubles point.
While WMU took an early lead in the battle for the doubles point, scoring an 8-4 victory in the No. 1 slot, the Cardinals answered with the tandem of senior Shaun Bussert (Decatur, Ga./Decatur H.S.) and sophomore Austin Sansone (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) posting an 8-5 win over Thomas Calderone and Zeyan Montasser in the No. 3 position.
Juniors Derek Carpenter (Fort Wayne, Ind./Southside H.S.) and Zane Smith (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) followed by capturing the No. 2 doubles contest by a score of 8-6 over Casey Cullen and Pablo Olivarez to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the overall match.
The Broncos opened singles play with wins at No. 2 and No. 4 to take a brief 2-1 advantage in the contest. However, Sansone would answer with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over WMU's Brad Noel in the No. 6 slot to even the match at two points apiece.
Western Michigan would break through again in the No. 1 position, as Michael Calderone won tiebreakers in both the first and second sets to earn a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) victory over BSU sophomore Dalton Albertin (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central H.S.) to bring WMU within one point of winning the match.
After opening his No. 5 battle with a 6-2 setback in the first set, Ball State's Andres Monroy (Mexico, City, Mexico) rallied to win the final two sets by scores of 7-5 and 6-4 to earn a win over WMU's Cullen and tie the quarterfinal match once again at 3-3.
In the final singles match, BSU junior Cliff Morrison (South Africa/Eden College) and WMU's Simon Blomberg traded victories in the first two sets of their No. 3 bout, with Morris winning the opener 6-4 and Blomberg taking the second 7-5. Morrison would then secure Ball State's upset of the top-seeded Broncos with a 6-4 decision in the final set.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Ball State University 4, Western Michigan 3
Singles competition
1. Michael Calderone (WMU) def. Dalton Albertin (BSU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2)
2. Kazuya Komada (WMU) def. Zane Smith (BSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Cliff Morrison (BSU) def. Simon Blomberg (WMU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Pablo Olivarez (WMU) def. Alexandre Brym (BSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Andres Monroy (BSU) def. Casey Cullen (WMU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
6. Austin Sansone (BSU) def. Brad Noel (WMU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Michael Calderone/Kazuya Komada (WMU) def. Dalton Albertin/Cliff Morrison (BSU) 8-4
2. Derek Carpenter/Zane Smith (BSU) def. Casey Cullen/Pablo Olivarez (WMU) 8-6
3. Shaun Bussert/Austin Sansone (BSU) def. Thomas Calderone/Zeyad Montasser (WMU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,6,1,5,3)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,4,6,1,5,3
