Mid-American Conference

2014 MAC Men's Tennis Championship:  April 25-26 on the campus of Ball State University
 
 
Friday, April 25
 
No. 4 Buffalo def. No. 1 Northern Illinois, 4-2
 
No. 3 Ball State def. No. 2 Toledo, 4-1
 
Saturday, April 26
 
Championship Match:  No. 3 Ball State def. No. 4 Buffalo, 4-3
 
 
Ball State:
 
Men's Tennis Defeats Buffalo For MAC Tourney Title
 
MUNCIE, Ind. – Freshman Lucas Andersen's three-set singles win on court three clinched a 4-3 victory for the third-seeded Ball State men's tennis team over fourth-seed Buffalo Saturday afternoon in the championship match of the 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.
 
This was the first time the Cardinals had been to the final match of the MAC Tournament since the 2011 season when Ball State won the title at Western Michigan's Sorenson Courts.
 
"What an incredible day to be able to win an exciting match like that at home for the conference championship is something that you dream about," Ball State head men's tennis coach Bill Richards said. "I give our guys all the credit they are a great bunch of fighters probably not the most talented team in the league but very, very tough mentally.  The fought so hard to come back after losing a tough doubles point and losing some first sets in singles.  All we talked about was winning the first set and we won enough to keep us hanging in there, I am just really proud of our team Indiana guys as we call them, a bunch of Hoosiers that got the job done today."
 
The Cardinals had to fight back after dropping the doubles point to Buffalo despite Patrick Elliott and Andrew Stutz winning their match first after posting an 8-2 victory over Buffalo's Jonathan Hannestad and Sergio Arevalillo. 
 
On court three, Lucas Andersen paired up with Matt Helm but fell to Sebastian Lonescu and Pablo Alvarez, 8-5.  Just like the first meeting against the Bulls during the regular season, the doubles competition came down to No. 1 doubles.  The doubles tandem of Austin Smith and Ray Leonard won that meeting over Akhil Mehta and Damien David, but this time the Bulls would come out on top beating the Ball State twosome, 8-7 (7-4). 
 
For the second straight day, Smith was the first match off the court for the Cardinals as the team's lone senior took down Arevalillo in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) at No. 4 singles to tie the match 1-1.  After that, it was like a domino effect, Elliott won 6-1, 6-3 over Lonescu on court two then Leonard followed with a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 1 over David. 
 
Despite the Cardinals taking a 3-1 advantage over the Bulls late in the match, Buffalo did not go away without a fight.  The Bulls earned wins on courts six and five knotting the match 3-3.
 
The match would then come down to court three where Andersen was fighting back after losing the first set to Alvarez 7-4. Andersen took the second set 6-1 sending the match into a third set.  The two would continue to battle until the very end of the competition where it would come down to a tie break situation.  Both rallied until Andersen clinched the match winning the tie breaker 9-7.
 
The Ball State men's tennis team is led by Richards who is in his 42nd season at the helm of the Cardinals.  Ball State has now won 22 MAC titles in program history, including 17 undefeated MAC seasons. Ball State has participated in the MAC for the last 33 years, claiming 38 regular season and or tournament championships.  Since the MAC tournament format started in 1997, the Cardinals have won the league tournament seven times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011 and 2014).
 
At the conclusion of today's match. Andersen and Smith were named to the All-MAC Tournament team.  Smith was awarded the 2014 Men's Tennis MAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
 
The Ball State University men's tennis team will compete in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I Tournament, May 10-11, at a location to be announced next week.
 
2014 MAC Men's Tennis All-MAC Tournament Team:
 Akhil Mehta, Buffalo
 Jonathan Hannestad, Buffalo
 Lucas Andersen, Ball State
 Austin Smith, Ball State
 Frederic Cadieux, Northern Illinois
 Stjepan Sisko, Toledo
Most Outstanding Player: Austin Smith, Ball State
 
Apr 26, 2014 at Muncie, Ind. (Cardinal Creek Tennis Center)
Ball State 4, Buffalo 3
 
Singles competition
1. Ray Leonard (BSU) def. Damien David (BUFFALO) 7-5, 6-2
2. Patrick Elliott (BSU) def. Sebastian Ionescu (BUFFALO) 6-1, 6-3
3. Lucas Andersen (BSU) def. Pablo Alvarez (BUFFALO) 4-7, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
4. Austin Smith (BSU) def. Sergio Arevalillo (BUFFALO) 6-1, 6-1
5. Akhil Mehta (BUFFALO) def. Patrick Downs (BSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Jonathan Hannestad (BUFFALO) def. Andrew Stutz (BSU) 6-3, 7-5
 
Doubles competition
1. Akhil Mehta/Damien David (BUFFALO) def. Austin Smith/Ray Leonard (BSU) 8-7 (7-4)
2. Patrick Elliott/Andrew Stutz (BSU) def. Jonathan Hannestad/Sergio Arevalillo (BUFFALO) 8-2
3. Sebastian Ionescu/Pablo Alvarez (BUFFALO) def. Lucas Andersen/Matt Helm (BSU) 8-5
 
 
Buffalo:
Bulls lose title match, 4-3
MUNCIE, IN - The UB men's tennis team lost a heartbreaking 4-3 match to the host Ball State Cardinals Saturday afternoon in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship match. The team would make a big comeback late, but would lose on a third-set tiebreaker with the match tied 3-3.
 
In doubles play, the Cardinals would win a quick decision at number two, but the Bulls countered with an 8-5 win at third doubles from Pablo Alvarez and Sebastian Ionescu. Damien David and Akhil Mehta would claim the doubles point thanks to an 8-7 win.
 
In singles play, the two-teams split the first sets and the results would come flying in to set up the dramatic finish. Ball State won three straight-set decisions at fourth, second and first singles to run out to a 3-1 lead. Needing to win out, the Bulls would start with a 6-3, 7-5 win from freshman Jonathan Hannestad at sixth singles. Akhil Mehta followed with a straight-set win of his own, winning a second-set tiebreaker in the fifth flight, 6-4, 7-6, to tie the overall score at 3-3.
 
While the first five matchups would be decided quickly, the match at third singles would come down to the wire. Alvarez won his first set 6-4 but fell back and lost his second set 6-1 and would trail early in the third as Mehta was finishing up his win.
 
Down 4-3 in the third, Alvarez was able to finally break serve and went up 5-4. Needing to win by two, Alvarez would trade games with his opponent, who tied it at 5-5 before Alvarez led again 6-5. He again could not close it out, and the match would go to a tiebreaker. Ball State would claim the win in the tiebreaker, 9-7, to take the 4-3 win.
 
"This year has been a tremendous effor from our guys, and I couldn't ask for anything more from them," head coach Lee Nickell said following the match. "We made history this year and represented the university and athletic department with class and dignity. Today we had numerous championship points but we couldn't quite get the ball we wanted. Credit to Ball State, they came up with big shots when they need them."
 
The team finishes the 2014 season with a 12-8 overall record and enjoyed its first season in the national rankings. The Bulls return every starter from this year's team in 2015, though it loses two important senior leaders.
 
"I'd like to thank Jason Simon and Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik for their hard work and dedication over the last four years," Nickell added. "I would also like to thank George Tibil for his five years of service as an athlete and a coach. His work ethic, and love for the program and university, will be missed."