Ball State University Athletics
Strong Singles Play Leads Men's Tennis At Purdue
September 27, 2016 | Men's Tennis
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis team had a strong showing in singles play at the Purdue Fall Invitational, advancing four Cardinals to the semifinal round of their respective flights.
Senior Lucas Andersen (Flight A), sophomore Nemanja Guzina (Flight B), Jan Jirus (Flight C) and sophomore Conner Andersen (Flight D) went 2-0 on the day. L. Andersen started the day with a 10 a.m. match win over Big Ten foe Indiana's Zac Brodney (6-3,6-2). He then went on to defeat Southern Illinois' Michal Kianicka (6-2,6-1) and will face Avi Ben Shabat from Butler Saturday.
In flight B, N. Guzina battled back from being a set down and defeated the Hoosiers' Payam Ahmadi , 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. N. Guzina then moved onto the quarterfinals with a straight set victory over DePaul's Nathan de Veer. He will now face fellow Mid-American Conference member Toledo's Vince Anzalone in the semi's.
Jirus and C. Andersen followed the winning trend in Flights C and D. Jirus took both of his opponents down in straight sets while C. Andersen registered a three set thriller (6-3, 3-6, 7-5) over Southern Illinois' Aaron Berris. C. Andersen then defeated Butler's Alope Adelakun, 6-4, 7-6 in the quarterfinals. Both Jirus and C. Andersen will see if they can advance to the championships on Saturday.
In doubles play Flight C, sophomore Tom Carney alongside doubles partner true freshman Lucas Wiese, were the only Cardinals' twosome to advance to the quarterfinals after posting a 7-5 victory over DePaul's Tamas Zador and Tim Corwin.
The Ball State men's tennis team continues play at the Purdue Fall Invitational Saturday and will conclude competition Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette.
