Sunday, March 31
Muncie, Ind.
4:30 p.m.
Ball State University
2
vs
5
Northern Illinois University
NIU Downs Men’s Tennis 5-2 to Even Season Series
March 31, 2019 | Men's Tennis
Four singles matches go three sets, but Huskies win three of them
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Things were tight across the board, but Northern Illinois took the doubles point and three of the first four singles matches off the court Sunday en route to a 5-2 victory over Ball State in Mid-American Conference men's tennis action.
The Huskies avenged a loss by the same score just two weeks ago on the same courts at Muncie's Northwest YMCA, improving to 10-10 (2-3 MAC). The Cardinals dropped to 10-10 (1-3 MAC).
Four of the six singles matches went the distance, and Ball State's Chris Adams nearly pushed another to three sets. But Adams came up just short in an 11-9 second-set tiebreaker at the No. 4 position, as Mikko Malinen pulled through for a 6-1, 7-6 win to seal the team victory for Northern Illinois.
The Huskies, who entered singles action up a point by virtue of tight victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, also took the first two singles matches off the court at the bottom of the lineup. NIU's Shao-Yu Yu shook off a first-set loss to take the next two over Conner Andersen at No. 5. Victor Spolidorio was a straight-set winner over BSU's Tom Carney at No. 6.
The two longest matches of the day came at the top two spots in the lineup, where Ball State twins Marko and Nemanja Guzina both played for more than three hours. Marko won a third-set tiebreaker over Eric Marbach to take the final two sets at the No. 1 spot, while Nemanja dropped a 7-5 third set to David Pata at No. 2.
Ball State picked up its other point at No. 3 singles, where Thibault de Negri overcame a 6-1 first-set loss to take the next two over Bor Schweiger Muzar, briefly keeping hope alive for the Cardinals as the third singles match off the court.
Ball State will return to action Wednesday with a 1 p.m. match against Butler at Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. The Cardinals will then host Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Huskies avenged a loss by the same score just two weeks ago on the same courts at Muncie's Northwest YMCA, improving to 10-10 (2-3 MAC). The Cardinals dropped to 10-10 (1-3 MAC).
Four of the six singles matches went the distance, and Ball State's Chris Adams nearly pushed another to three sets. But Adams came up just short in an 11-9 second-set tiebreaker at the No. 4 position, as Mikko Malinen pulled through for a 6-1, 7-6 win to seal the team victory for Northern Illinois.
The Huskies, who entered singles action up a point by virtue of tight victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, also took the first two singles matches off the court at the bottom of the lineup. NIU's Shao-Yu Yu shook off a first-set loss to take the next two over Conner Andersen at No. 5. Victor Spolidorio was a straight-set winner over BSU's Tom Carney at No. 6.
The two longest matches of the day came at the top two spots in the lineup, where Ball State twins Marko and Nemanja Guzina both played for more than three hours. Marko won a third-set tiebreaker over Eric Marbach to take the final two sets at the No. 1 spot, while Nemanja dropped a 7-5 third set to David Pata at No. 2.
Ball State picked up its other point at No. 3 singles, where Thibault de Negri overcame a 6-1 first-set loss to take the next two over Bor Schweiger Muzar, briefly keeping hope alive for the Cardinals as the third singles match off the court.
Ball State will return to action Wednesday with a 1 p.m. match against Butler at Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. The Cardinals will then host Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Eric Marbach / 0 [NIU]
646
467
#2 Singles Match
123
David Pata / 0 [NIU]
667
735
#3 Singles Match
123
Bor Schweiger Muzar / 0 [NIU]
624
166
#4 Singles Match
12
Mikko Malinen / 0 [NIU]
67
16
#5 Singles Match
123
Shao-Yu Yu / 0 [NIU]
366
602
#6 Singles Match
12
Victor Spolidorio / 0 [NIU]
66
44
Order of Finish:
6,5,3,4,2,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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