Men's Tennis Earns 4-3 Comeback Victory over Northern Illinois

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis team (10-8, 2-1 MAC) earned a come from behind win Saturday afternoon in Mid-American Conference action over Northern Illinois (12-8, 1-2 MAC). The Cardinals defeated the Huskies 4-3 at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center after dropping the doubles point Ball State came back to take four of the six singles matches from NIU.

The Cardinals found themselves trailing early to the Huskies at the start of the match. Ball State would lose on courts three and one to give Northern Illinois the early 1-0 advantage over the Cardinals. Patrick Downs alongside Marko Guzina were the first Ball State twosome off the court after losing a 6-2 decision to Carlos Manzanas and Bor Schweiger Muzar at the No. 3 spot. After that, the MAC Doubles Team of the Week, Lucas Andersen and Andrew Stutz suffered a 6-3 setback on the top court to Georg Lundkvist and Eric Marback. Tom Carney and Conner Andersen's match went unfinished at the No. 2 position with the score tied, 4-4.

Lucas Andersen gave the Cardinals their first point of the day after his straight set take down over Bor Schweiger on the top court, 6-4, 6-2. After that, Nemanja Guzina claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Tom Hjertonsson at the No. 4 spot which tied the match at 2-2.

Northern Illinois earned wins at the No. 2 and No. five singles positions. The score was 3-2 with NIU having a slight edge over Ball State with just two matches left to play the Cardinals fate came down to courts three and six. Marko Guzina beat Eric Marbach, 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 3 position to tie the match at 3-3. It was all left up to Conner Andersen on court six who fell 6-1 in the first set to Carlos Manzanas. Conner Andersen then fought back to take the second set, 6-2. The third set went down to the wire as Conner Andersen and Manzanas battled hard to win the match for their respective teams but it was Conner Andersen who managed to serve for win. He took the last set 7-5 from Manaznas to give the Cardinals the victory and improve their conference record to 2-1.

The Ball State men's tennis team continues Mid-American Conference action Friday April 7 at 1 p.m. in Toledo.

Tennis Match Results
Northern Illinois vs Ball State
Apr 01, 2017 at Muncie, Ind.
(Cardinal Creek Tennis Center)
Ball State 4, Northern Illinois 3
Singles competition
1. Lucas Andersen (BSU) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def. Andrew Stutz (BSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Marko Guzina (BSU) def. Eric Marbach (NIU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Nemanja Guzina (BSU) def. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) def. Patrick Downs (BSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Conner Andersen (BSU) def. Carlos Manzanas (NIU) 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Georg Lundkvist/Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Lucas Andersen/Andrew Stutz (BSU) 6-2
2. Tom Carney/Conner Andersen (BSU) vs. Louis-Philippe Hamel/Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) 4-4, unfinished
3. Carlos Manzanas/Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) def. Patrick Downs/Marko Guzina (BSU) 6-2
Match Notes:
Northern Illinois 12-8, 1-2 MAC
Ball State 10-8, 2-1 MAC

Men's Tennis Earns 4-3 Comeback Victory over Northern Illinois

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Conner Andersen

Lucas Andersen

Tom Carney

Patrick Downs

Marko Guzina

Nemanja Guzina

Andrew Stutz