Different season, but it ends with a similar result.
Ball State Men’s Tennis (12-14, 2-5 MAC) closed out its season with a 5-0 loss to Western Michigan (17-8, 7-0 MAC). The loss is all too familiar to the Cardinals, as the Broncos knocked the Cardinals out of the conference tournament last season.
“They are a tough team and they really jumped on us in the doubles matches, which is an important part of every match,” head coach Bill Richards said.
The Broncos ran out of the gate quick in doubles play to begin the match with a win against seniors Marko Guzina and Nemanja Guzina for the Cardinals. Ball State took one doubles match after senior Tom Carney and junior Thibault De Negri won 7-5.
The Broncos continued their success against the Cardinals in singles play, not giving up a single victory on all six courts. However, Western Michigan swept the season series, 3-0.
The Cardinals saw a decline from season in the final record, going from 14-11 to 12-14. The did find success at home, however, going 8-5 and 10-2 last season.
“The season did not end the way we wanted it to, losing once again to the same team, but the guys were solid all season long," Richards said. "I’m just proud of the improvement they made throughout the year."
The top doubles performance for Ball State this season was the tandem of sophomore Chris Adams and senior Conner Andersen, who were 17-12 overall. Top individual performances this year were sophomore Chris Adams at 17-15, Andersen who finished 16-9, and sophomore Bryce Bonin at 16-12.
Contact Dorian Ducre with any comments dkducre@bsu.edu or on Twitter @DucreDorian.