Ball State University Athletics
Women's Tennis Advances To MAC Tourney Semifinals
April 24, 2015 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Ohio - The No. 3 Ball State women's tennis team (16-5) advanced to the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Saturday after defeating No. 6 Buffalo (7-11) 4-0 Friday afternoon at Miami University.
This is the third straight season Ball State has competed in the MAC Tourney semifinal round. The Cardinals competed in the MAC Tournament seminals in 2013 and 2014.
"Very proud of our focus and mental toughness," Ball State head women's tennis coach Max Norris said. "Buffalo had a lot of energy and was ready for us. We are excited for tomorrow. Go cards!"
Norris becomes the only head coach in program history to take the Cardinals to the MAC Tournament semifinals in back-to-back seasons.
No. 3 Ball State will now take on No. 2 Western Michigan. The Broncos enter Saturday's match with a 15-8 overall record and a 7-1 conference ledger. Ball State fell to Western Michigan 5-2 March 27 in Kalamazoo, Mich earlier this season. The last time the two schools' met in the MAC Tourney semifinals was in 2013 when Ball State defeated Western Michigan 4-3 at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.
The Cardinals took the early 1-0 lead over the Bulls after winning the doubles point, with wins on courts one and three. Ashlyn Rang and Toni Ormond were the first doubles tandem off the court after taking down Buffalo's Laura Fernandez and Christine Haraldson, 6-0 at the No. 3 doubles position. Buffalo then evened doubles play 1-1 after earning the victory on court two but Courtney Earnest alongside teammate Rosalinda Calderon claimed the doubles point after defeating Dayana Agasieva and Margarita Kotok, 6-4.
Bethany Moore put the Cardinals up 2-0 over the Bulls with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Haraldson on court six. Calderon followed suit with her 7-6, 6-1 win over Laura Holterbosch at the No. 5 slot to give Ball State the 3-0 advantage.
After that, the Cardinals needed only one more point to advance to the semifinal round. All-MAC First Team honoree Earnest, clinched the match on court two for Ball State after beating Kotok, 6-4, 6-3.
The Ball State women's tennis team continues action at the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament when it faces No. 2 Western Michigan Saturday in Oxford, Ohio at 2 p.m.
