Men’s Tennis Falls 4-3 To NIU With Shorthanded Lineup

Sunday, April 10

Muncie, Ind.

1:30 pm

Ball State University

Northern Illinois University

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Men’s Tennis Falls 4-3 To NIU With Shorthanded Lineup

April 10, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis team (9-9, 4-4 MAC) fell short in a 4-3 match to Northern Illinois (11-8, 5-4 MAC) Sunday afternoon at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.

The Cardinals had to play without their No. 3 (Nathaniel Webster) and No. 4 (Chris Adams) singles players and had to move everyone up in their lineup against the Huskies.

Prior to today's match Ball State recognized its two senior Adams and Thibault de Negri.

Adams was able to compete only in doubles today, but he made good use of his time after pairing up with teammate Danilo Kovacevic on the top court. The No. 1 duo defeated Mikko Malinen and Michael Vollbach, 6-2.

The next twosome to finish doubles play was the No. 3 doubles tandem of Vince Orlando and Parrish Simmons. Orlando and Simmons claimed the doubles point after earning a 6-4 decision over Armin Koschtojan and Christopher Knutson.

In singles, NIU knotted the match by taking court five from Ball State. Petar Petrovic stepped in at the No. 6 slot for Ball State and would give the Cardinals back the 2-1 edge over the Huskies after beating Knutson, 6-1, 6-4.

The Huskies then tallied victories on courts two, one and four to earn the win over the Cardinals.

Orlando though ended today's match on a high note for the Cardinals after registering a three-set thriller, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, against Malinen at the No. 3 spot.

The Ball State men's tennis team will close out its Mid-American Conference regular season action on the road next weekend which will first start on Friday at Binghamton at 11 a.m. ET. Ball State then goes to Buffalo on Sunday for a 2 pm ET first serve.