April 6, 2008

Box Score

Ball State 4, Northern Illinois 3

DeKalb, Illinois - The doubles battle between Ball State and the Northern Illinois men's tennis team was a fierce one, as it featured two tie-breakers, but unfortunately for the Huskies, the Cardinals claimed the doubles point with a pair of victories on their way to the 4-3 Mid-American Conference triumph over NIU at the Huskie Tennis Courts on Sunday afternoon.

Ball State's Jorge Rodriguez and Jose Perdomo earned the crucial victory at No. 1 doubles with a 9-8 win over Brian Livingston (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and Adam Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central).   

"Losing the doubles point was crucial," NIU head men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort said. "We had our chances, but Ball State has always been at the top of the MAC and will continue to be.

"We had some opportunities, but just could not capitalize on them."

With the victory, Ball State improves to 9-11 overall and 2-0 in MAC play, while the Huskies fall to 8-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference action.

NIU's Alex Friesen (Vancouver, British Columbia/Burnaby Central) and Jimmy Chu (Lima, Peru/San Augustin) extended their winning streak to 13 matches with a 9-8 win over Eduardo Pavia and Joe Vallee at No. 2 doubles.

Friesen would later claim the 6-3, 7-6 win over Pavia at No. 2 singles, while Livingston extended his winning streak to 11 matches with the 6-4, 6-2 win over Perdomo at No. 1 singles. Freshman Matt Hansen (Topeka, Kan./Miami Online (FL)) earned the other singles win for the Huskies with the 6-2, 6-3 victory over Vallee at No. 5.

NIU is back in action on Sunday, April 13, as they welcome Toledo to the Huskie Tennis Courts for a 1 p.m. (CST) first serve.

Men's Tennis

Ball State 4, Northern Illinois 3

April 6, 2008 * DeKalb, Illinois

Huskie Tennis Courts

Singles:
1. Brian Livingston (NIU) def. Jose Perdomo (BSU) 6-4, 6-2

2. Alex Friesen (NIU) def. Eduardo Pavia (BSU) 6-3, 7-6

3. Jorge Rodriguez (BSU) def. Adam Ford (NIU) 6-3, 6-2

4. Shaun Bussert (BSU) def. Jimmy Chu (NIU) 7-5, 6-1

5. Matt Hansen (NIU) def. Joe Vallee (BSU) 6-2, 6-3

6. Danny Vidal (BSU) def. Javier Bernabe (NIU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4

Doubles:

1. Jorge Rodriguez/Jose Perdomo (BSU) def. Brian Livingston/Adam Ford (NIU) 9-8

2. Jimmy Chu/Alex Friesen (NIU) def. Eduardo Pavia/Joe Vallee (BSU) 9-8

3. Shaun Bussert/Danny Vidal (BSU) def. Matt Hansen/Alfonso Monroy (NIU) 8-2

##NIU##