Ball State University
No. 2 Buffalo
Men's Tennis Advances To MAC Championship Saturday
April 29, 2016 | Men's Tennis
DEKALB, Ill. - The third-seeded Ball State men's tennis team (13-11) earned its ticket to the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament Championships with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Buffalo (11-8) Friday afternoon at Northern Illinois.
Ball State returns to the MAC Tournament Championship match for the first time since 2014 season, when the Cardinals won the title at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.
"This was another match just like most of our conference matches this year where we just dug and scraped and found a way to get the W," Ball State head men's tennis coach Bill Richards said. "Great team win over a very good Buffalo team. Doubles points haven't come easy for us this year. We didn't get down after losing it today neutralize the momentum by winning 4 first sets. Our Juniors have been carrying us this year but our 3 freshman really stepped up today when we needed them. Tomorrow will be a huge challenge. Western Michigan has been a level above everyone all year."
The Cardinals will face No. 1 Western Michigan at 2 p.m. (EST) at the Vaughn Tennis Center in Aurora, Ill. The Broncos defeated Binghamton 4-1 earlier in the day to earn a berth in the championship match. Ball State lost to Western Michigan in the MAC regular season, 5-2.
The Cardinals had won the doubles point over Buffalo in regular season action at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center April 15, but the Bulls would finish atop in today's competition. After suffering a loss on court two, the top court knotted doubles play 1-1 after Conner Andersen and Andrew Stutz took down Amar Hromic and Pablo Alvarez by a score of 6-3. At No. 3 dobules, the twosome of Matt Helm and Marko Guzina fell to Akhil Mehta and Tony Miller, 6-4 allowing the Bulls to clinch the doubles point.
Marko Guzina and Stutz were the first singles matches off the court for the Cardinals. The two earned straight set victories on courts six and two, respectively to put Ball State up 2-1 over Buffalo. The Bulls then evened the score 2-2 after Mehta claimed a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles over Patrick Downs.
The back-to-back MAC Singles Player of the Week, Lucas Andersen then put Ball State back up 3-2 after a 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over Sergio Arevalillo on the top court. Nemanja Guzina would soon follow Andersen's winning ways on court three, taking the a three set thriller (2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4) against Amar Hromic, securing the match for the Cardinals.
Ball State 4, Buffalo 2
Doubles
1. Stutz/C. Andersen (BSU) def. Hromic/Alvarez (UB), 6-3
2. Arevalillo/Nittolo (UB) def. L. Andersen/Downs (BSU), 6-3
3. Mehta/Miller (UB) def. Helm/M. Guzina (BSU), 6-4
Singles
1. Lucas Andersen (BSU) def. Sergio Arevalillo (UB), 7-6, 6-3
2. Andrew Stutz (BSU) def. Pablo Alvarez (UB), 6-2, 6-3
3. Nemanja Guzina (BSU) def. Amar Hromic (UB), 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
4. Akhil Mehta (UB) def. Patrick Downs (BSU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Ethan Nittolo (UB) vs. Conner Andersen (BSU), unfinished, 6-7, 7-5, 5-3
6. Marko Guzina (BSU) def. Tony Miller (UB), 6-1, 6-2
Due to expected rain all day tomorrow. Saturday's championship match will be played at Vaughn Tennis Center in Aurora. Directions to Vaughn can be found on this page … http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/2016-mac.html
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
