The confines of the local Village Glen Tennis Center couldn't help the men's tennis team continue through the Mid-American Conference Championships.
After rain moved the game from the Ellicott Tennis Courts to the location in Williamsville, the Bulls (7-11, 1-5 MAC) were demolished by Ball State (12-9, 4-1 MAC), 4-0. The loss propels the Cardinals into a Friday morning matchup against No. 1 Western Michigan at 10 a.m. while the Bulls are officially done with play this season.
In doubles play, the Cardinals took the lone point. The duo of sophomore Marcelo Mazzetto and junior Kirill Kolomyts took on the Ball State duo of Jose Perdomo and Zane Smith. They tied their match, 6-6.
In the second doubles match of the day, Eduardo Pavia and Andres Monroy of the Cardinals defeated senior Octavian Stane and freshman Kristof Custers, 8-1. The third group of freshmen Alex Kalinin and Guilherme Smaniotto faced off against Jorge Rodriguez and Derek Carpenter. The Ball State team defeated the Bulls, 8-6.
When it came to singles play, the results were just as similar.
In the first singles matchup to finish, Monroy defeated Stane 6-3, 6-0. Pavia defeated Mazzetto 6-4, 6-1, in the second singles match, while Rodriguez beat Custers in the third match, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the win for the Cardinals.
In fourth singles, Shaun Bussert led sophomore Mitch Zenaty 6-2, 5-4 while Perdomo was leading Kolomyts, 6-2, 4-4. Kalinin's match ended with him leading Cliff Morrison from Ball State, 7-6 (8), 1-1.
In other MAC tournament news, No. 3 Northern Illinois defeated No. 6 Chicago State, 4-1. The win slates the Huskies against the No. 2 Toledo Rockets on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
