Ball State Men’s tennis is stringing together a winning streak as conference play nears. Wednesday was their fourth win in a row and it came against the Dayton Flyers (7-6, 0-0) in a dominating performance.
Head coach Bill Richards put some players in different situations, as the lineups were shuffled around but the Cardinals (7-3, 0-0) didn’t miss a beat.
First-year Jacks Lancaster and fourth-year Eli Herran got play started with a 6-2 win in doubles. Then, the pair of Fifth-year Danillo Kovacevic and fourth-year Parrish Simmons were elevated from their normal spot on the number two doubles team to the number one doubles team. They gave the Cardinals the doubles point with a close 7-5 win.
Singles play saw the most drastic changes in the lineup, with Lancaster, Herran and third-year Sajin Smith all being asked to play up from their normal singles slots. They ended up taking care of business regardless.
Lancaster came away with a 6-3, 6-2 victory, while Herran won 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. It took Smith three sets to win his match. He came away with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
The other winner for the Cardinals in singles was second-year Petar Petrovic. After not making a singles start since Jan. 29, he stepped into the sixth slot. He came away with a solid 6-3, 6-3 victory to round out the scoring for Ball State.
The Cardinals have just one more home match to finish the non-conference season, as they play host to the IUPUI Jaguars on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Northwest YMCA.
Contact Caleb Zuver with comments at cmzuver@bsu.edu or on Twitter @zuves35.
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