Ball State women’s tennis (2-2) hosted the James Madison Dukes (3-1) on Feb. 3 and lost a tough match 4-3.
It started out with doubles when the Cardinals just didn’t have it. In the first doubles, fourth-year duo Emily Desai and Jessica Braun lost 3-6. Third-year Masha Polishchuk and fourth-year Emma Peeler couldn’t get it going either, losing 2-6.
Now that the Cardinals had to work from behind, they looked to some of their veterans. And fourth-year Amy Kaplan and Masha Polishchuk brought them back. Kaplan won handily, 6-3, 6-2 while Polishchuk rolled in the first set, winning 6-1. The second set was tougher, but she found a way to win 7-6.
With the Cardinals up 2-1 in the match, it seemed as though the momentum was starting to shift. But the Dukes started to take it back.
Jessica Braun lost 6-7, 1-6 in the number four singles. The number one singles match was closely contested and ended up going the distance. Emma Peeler had her chances to take it but ended up losing 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.
James Madison was one point away from winning, but second-year Elena Malykh evened things after defeating first-year Reka Matko of the Dukes, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6.
It came down to first-year Annika Planisek, as the number five singles slot turned out to be the last match of the day. Plasisek couldn’t break serve and lost 7-5, 3-6, 4-6.
The Cardinals will have some time to process this one, as they head east next weekend. They’re on the road to play Cleveland State on Feb. 10, and Youngstown State on Feb. 11.
Contact Caleb Zuver with comments at cmzuver@bsu.edu or on Twitter @zuves35.
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