In the first ever matchup between Ball State women's tennis (9-2) and Belmont (2-9), the Cardinals defeated the Bruins 6-1 in Nashville.
“It was good to be outside today, and it was a beautiful day,” said Head Coach Max Norris.
It was a beautiful start for the Cardinals too in the doubles. The match on court three was the first to finish with a 6-0 win for senior Carmen Blanco and sophomore Peyton Gollhofer over Bruins’ pair Abbie Mather and Maddie Gilley.
The sun wasn’t shining on sophomore Isabelle Dohanics and senior Toni Ormond on court one though, as they lost to Belmont's Lindsey Whitehead and Kendall Warren 6-1.
The doubles point was left in the balance for court two’s outcome to decide. Freshman Becca Herrington and senior Rosa Calderon were down 4-5 in their match against Belmont's duo of Laura’s: Laura Kent and Laura Van Eeckhoudt. However, they managed to win four games unanswered and took the match 7-5, giving Ball State the edge overall.
Cardinals' next match
When: Monday, March 6
Where: Murfreesboro, TN
Time: 1 p.m.
“We had to fight hard to win at many spots, and we got tested,” Norris said.
In the singles, two matches had to be decided by match-breakers. On court two, after winning her first set, Ormond was pulled back into the game by her opponent Lindsey Whitehead, whom she faced off against in doubles. Whitehead took the second set and then the tiebreak, winning 4-6 6-3 10-5.
It was better news for the Cardinals in the other match breaker on court five. Calderon played a fellow senior, Abbie Mather. Like Ormond, Calderon won the first set but lost the second. The match breaker went a different way, though, and Calderon came through with a 6-2 1-6 10-8 victory.
The other matches were completed with relative ease. Blanco won all 12 games of her match to beat Laura Kent 6-0 6-0 on court 1. On court six, after winning her first set 6-1, junior Julia Sbircea’s opponent Suzanna Stapler retired at 1-0 down in the second set.
Dohanics beat Van Eeckhoudt 6-2 6-2 and Herrington secured another straight set victory for the Cardinals on court four, beating Warren 6-3 6-0.
“Overall, I’m pleased with our effort today,” Norris said. “We are excited for practice tomorrow and Western Kentucky on Monday.”
The match on Monday takes place at 1 p.m. at Western Kentucky.
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