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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
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Falcons Fall In Championship Match, 4-3
April 27, 2002 | Men's Tennis
April 27, 2002
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Ball State University won the 2002 Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis Championship with a 4-3 victory over Bowling Green State University Saturday afternoon (April 27). The match was held at the University at Buffalo.
With the loss, the Falcons saw their record drop to 19-11 in dual-match play. BGSU was the top seed for the tournament. Second-seeded BSU improved to 13-13 on the year, and earned the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Cardinals took the doubles point with wins at the top-two flights. Jason Pressel and Kevin Burnett captured a win over senior Vitek Wild and junior Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo at the top flight. At the middle flight, BSU's Chris Varga and Andrew Seni downed junior Geoff Hiscox and sophomore Joel Carney by an 8-4 count.
The third-flight match, between the BGSU team of sophomore Milos Jirout and freshman Ian Bliss and Ball State's Brad Rhodes/Matt Laramore tandem did not finish.
In singles play, four of the six matches went to three sets. In the straight-sets matches, Wild fell to Varga at the second flight, but Lopez-Acevedo dropped only five games to Seni en route to a third-flight victory.
At the top flight, Pressel beat Hiscox in a tiebreaker in the first set, but Hiscox rallied for a second-set win before Pressel pulled out a 6-4 win in the third set.
Jirout downed Burnett in three sets at the fourth level, while Bliss topped Rhodes at the sixth flight. The match was tied at 3-3 with only the fifth-flight competitors still on the court.
In that match, Laramore and Carney had battled through two tight sets, with Carney winning a second-set tiebreaker to force a third set. But, in that final set, Laramore pulled out a 6-4 win and gave the Cardinals the team title.
"This was a great, back-and-forth MAC tennis match," said BGSU head coach Jay Harris. "I think that Ball State's experience of being in the championship match many, many times contributed to them coming out strong in the doubles, and winning that doubles point.
"They've always played strong doubles, and they definitely took it to us, although at third doubles we came back and were up, 6-4, after being down, 4-1. So, we were fighting back; we just couldn't quite get back into it.
Then, in the singles, we actually had chances to win the first set at all six flights. We lost two tiebreakers and lost a set, 7-5. Ball State was kind of lucky to be in the position that they were at that point, and they fed off that momentum. That carried them into really having the chance to close us out.
"About the middle of the match, though, we fought back with so much heart and intensity. Milos came back and won 7-5 in the third set. Ian Bliss came back, after being down, 3-1, in the third to win, 6-4. Ian, playing as a freshman in a huge match, gave a great effort today.
"He took an opportunity -- he was not in the lineup yesterday -- and ran with it, playing an outstanding match. He beat Rhodes, who hadn't lost in the MAC yet, and Ian handed him the first league loss of his career. Ian finished undefeated in the MAC in his career.
"Our captain, Mike Kossoff, to show you what kind of a captain we have, stepped up after yesterday's match (semifinal win over Northern Illinois). He didn't close out his match, and felt like he wasn't hitting the ball as well as he could on the weekend. Mike knew that Ian had been playing well, and came up to me after the NIU match and said, 'Coach, I'm not hitting the ball that well. I'll definitely play better tomorrow, but if you think Ian has a better chance to win, then you should put him in there.'
"For my captain to do that speaks volumes for him and the commitment he has for the program. And, I think any of our guys would probably make the same selfless gesture if they were in that position. Mike's a special guy, and he's been the heart and soul of our program for four years. That was huge, and Ian got in there and got a 'W'.
"The match really came down to just a couple points. We were actually just a few points from winning the match, and they were just a few points from winning the match a few times. I never played in a match that went back and forth so much.
"We played well enough to win, and so did BSU. Unfortunately, the nature of sports is that someone wins and someone loses. And, unfortunately for us, we were on the losing side. But, I think when you look at the match, look at our scores and the situation -- the adversity that we've gone through all season -- the fact that we did get there and played well enough to win is a tribute to our guys.
It may have been the most exciting match in MAC finals history, and I know that last year's match was very exciting. But, I think that our performance speaks volumes about our program, how far it has come, and the kind of heart and soul these guys have to get through the adversity they've gotten through. To win the MAC (regular-season) Championship and to say, 'that's not good enough; we're still going to go out and give it all to win that MAC Tournament,' that blows me away. I mean, these guys have been awesome.
"Our last action will be an intrasquad match Thursday (May 2) at noon, which will be the last time the team plays at Keefe Courts. So, we'll have some fun with that, and we'd love to see some fans out at that."
Following the match, Hiscox was named the MAC Player of the Year, while Harris was honored as the MAC Coach of the Year.
The team's banquet is scheduled for Sunday, May 5, at 4:00 in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. For more information, contact the men's tennis office at (419) 372-2401.
Ball State 4, Bowling Green 3
MAC Championship - Buffalo, N.Y.
Singles 1 - Jason Pressel (BSU) def. Geoff Hiscox 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-4 2 - Chris Varga (BSU) def. Vitek Wild 7-6 (3), 6-2 3 - Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo (BGSU) def. Andrew Seni 6-2, 6-3 4 - Milos Jirout (BGSU) def. Kevin Burnett 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 5 - Matt Laramore (BSU) def. Joel Carney 7-5, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4 6 - Ian Bliss (BGSU) def. Brad Rhodes 6-4, 2-6, 6-4Doubles 1 - Pressel/Burnett (BSU) def. Wild/Lopez-Acevedo 8-1 2 - Varga/Seni (BSU) def. Hiscox/Carney 8-4 3 - Jirout/Bliss (BGSU) vs. Rhodes/Laramore (BSU), DNF
