Ball State
Men's Tennis Concludes MAC Slate With 4-3 Loss at Ball State
4/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MUNCIE, IN – The University at Buffalo men's tennis team began its two-match weekend swing in Muncie, IN with a 4-3 loss to homestanding Ball State at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center on Saturday. The Bulls (9-9, 4-1 MAC) claimed a share of the league's regular season crown with Northern Illinois as both teams received first-round byes to next week's tournament.
The Bulls took the top three singles matches for their points on Saturday. In the number one match, freshman Damien David won his 24th match and completed an undefeated season against conference foes with his three-set, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Ray Leonard. At numbers two and three, Vusa Hove and Wojciech Starakiewicz picked up victories in straight sets. Hove knocked off Dalton Albertin, 6-0, 6-4, for his 10th win in a row and 20th this season, in the number two contest. Hove also finished 5-0 against MAC competition. Starakiewicz defeated Zane Smith, 6-0, 6-4 in the number three match.
The Bulls also scored a doubles victory from the number two tandem of Starakiewicz and Travis Zappia as they downed Derek Carpenter and Zane Smith, 8-6.
"I hope that this match is a wake up call for our team," said UB head coach Lee Nickell. "Ball State was better than us today, and as I have said before there are five teams in this conference that can win this thing. We need a change in mindset going into tomorrow and next week if we plan on doing something this program has never done before."
UB faces IUPUI tomorrow at 10:00 am in Muncie. The Bulls will play their first match of the MAC Championships in Toledo, OH on Friday, April 27 against an opponent to be determined.
Ball State 4, Buffalo 3
Doubles
1 Ray Leonard/Dalton Albertin (BSU) d. Vusa Hove/Damien David (UB), 8-5
2 Wojciech Starakiewicz/Travis Zappia (UB) d. Derek Carpenter/Zane Smith (BSU), 8-6
3 Patrick Elliot/Andres Monroy (BSU) d. Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik/Alex Kalinin (UB), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1 Damien David (UB) d. Ray Leonard (BSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2 Vusa Hove (UB) d. Dalton Albertin (BSU), 6-0, 6-4
3 Wojciech Starakiewicz (UB) d. Zane Smith (BSU), 6-0, 6-4
4 Austin Smith (BSU) d. Ivan Vereshchaga (UB), 6-4, 6-3
5 Patrick Elliott (BSU) d. Alex Kalinin (UB), 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
6 Alexandre Brym (BSU) d. Travis Zappia (UB), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6
