Men's Tennis Earns 7-0 Sweep Over IU Southeast

Tuesday, April 7

Muncie, Ind.

2:30 PM

Ball State University

Indiana University South East

Men's Tennis Competes at Old Gold and Black Classic

April 07, 2015 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Ball State Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State University men's tennis team earned a 7-0 sweep Tuesday afternoon at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 11-9 on the season while IU Southeast dropped to 6-10 for the year.

“I think at this time of the year it is good to get a mid-week match if you can,” Ball State head men's tennis coach Bill Richards said. “Practices can get a little old after you been doing it for several months, so I think it was good to keep us a little more mentally fresh. I thought IU Southeast had a solid team and made us play hard, so I think it was a positive for us and obviously a positive for them. Their coach, Joe Epkey, is one of our former players and 2007 Mid-American Conference player of the year. It is great to help them out a little bit and I think it was very beneficial for both of us.”

Ball State started with strong performances in doubles, with wins at all three positions. Lucas Andersen and Patrick Elliott along with Andrew Stutz and Matt Helm, each defeated their opponents by a score of 8-3 on their respective courts. Ray Leonard alongside teammate Collin Rigney rounded out the doubles victories after their 8-6 defeat over Chris Braun and Jonathan James on court two.

The Cardinals continued their momentum and took all six singles matches from IU Southeast all in straight sets. On court five, Patrick Downs did not give up a point, winning 6-0, 6-0 over Jacob Rankin. At the No. 3 and six singles positions, Jan Jirus and Rigney defeated their opponents 6-1, 6-0. Leonard took down Nick Roby 6-1, 6-2 on the top court while classmate Elliott beat Jonathan James 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 slot. Stutz rounded out the victories for Ball State after his 6-1, 6-3 defeat over Bryson Mills on court four.

The Ball State men's tennis team, returns to Mid-American Conference action Saturday, when it hosts Western Michigan at 1 p.m. in the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.