Ball State University
University of Toledo
Men’s Tennis’ Comeback Falls Short Against Toledo
March 11, 2023 | Men's Tennis
MUNCIE, Ind. - Despite a valiant effort by the Ball State men's tennis team in singles, the Cardinals' comeback fell short against the Rockets Saturday afternoon, losing the match 4-3 at the Northwest YMCA.
With the loss, Ball State falls to 8-5 overall and 0-1 in MAC play while Toledo improves to 9-3 and 1-0 in conference action.
The Rockets took the early 1-0 edge over the Cardinals in doubles after claiming 6-2 wins on courts two and three, respectively. The top court was a highly competitive battle which saw a few lead changes between Vince Orlando and Nathaniel Webster versus Toledo's duo of Pawit Sornlaksup and Krzysztof Wetoszka. The match went unfinished but the score was 5-4 in favor of the Rockets.
In singles, Toledo increased its lead to 3-0 with a victory at the No. 6 and No. 1 position . The remaining four courts were tightly contested with Eli Herran winning his three set thriller over Toledo's No. 4 player Marko Galic for Ball State's first point of the match.
The Cardinals still had a glimmer of hope to complete the comeback as Orlando, Danilo Kovacevic and Sajin Smith were all in their third sets at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 positions, respectively.
Kovacevic took the three set tiebreak decision over Adam Kovac at the No. 3 slot to make the score, 3-2. The Rockets would then prevail over the Cardinals on court No. 2 to clinch match point.
Smith ended the competition though on a high note by earning his three set defeat against Matias Olivero on court No. 5, (7-6, 4-6, 6-3).
The Ball State men's tennis team continues Mid-American Conference action when it faces rival Western Michigan Friday, March 17 at 1 pm ET at the Northwest YMCA.
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,1,4,3,2,5
Players Mentioned
