Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. ââ'¬" Following an opening doubles victory, Miami University's women's tennis team was unable to seal a victory in its Mid-American Conference opener, falling, 4-3, to Ball State University Friday afternoon at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center.

The Cardinals (16-2, 3-0 MAC) used four singles victories, including a comeback win at No. 1 singles to earn their first triumph over the RedHawks (5-9, 0-1 MAC) since 2013. Despite the loss, Miami took two comeback victories in the singles competition.

In the doubles portion, Ball State quickly grabbed a victory at third-flight, but the sophomore pair of Nelli Ponomareva and Anastasiia Vasiukhina used a 6-2 result, their third-straight win, to tie the round. Finally, junior Andreea Badileanu and freshman Anzhelika Shapovalova clinched the point with a 7-5 victory over Carmen Blanco and Bethany Moore.

The Cardinals rebounded in singles with victories at second and fourth-flights, but Ponomareva knotted the match at 2-2 with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 third-flight victory over Audrey Berger. After Ball State regained the lead at 3-2, freshman Emily Struble picked up her 21st win of the season with a resurgent 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 result against Julia Sbircea. In the deciding first-flight match, Blanco staved off defeat in the second set and secured Ball State's victory with a three-set win.

Miami looks to break its five-match losing streak and pick up its first MAC victory as it remains on the road against Toledo (7-9, 1-2 MAC) on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m.

Check MiamiRedHawks.com for results and a recap of Sunday's match.

DOUBLES
1. Nelli Ponomareva / Anastasiia Vasiukhina (MIAMI) def. Toni Ormond / Julia Sbircea (BALL), 6-2
2. Andreea Badileanu / Anzhelika Shapovalova (MIAMI) def. Carmen Blanco / Bethany Moore (BALL), 7-5
3. Audrey Berger / Peyton Gollhofer (BALL) def. Ana Rajkovic / Hannah Shteyn (MIAMI), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

SINGLES
1. Carmen Blanco (BALL) def. Anzhelika Shapovalova (MIAMI), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. Peyton Gollhofer (BALL) def. Hannah Shteyn (MIAMI), 6-2, 6-2
3. Nelli Ponomareva (MIAMI) def. Audrey Berger (BALL), 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
4. Toni Ormond (BALL) def. Andreea Badileanu (MIAMI), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
5. Emily Struble (MIAMI) def. Julia Sbircea (BALL), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
6. Isabelle Dohanics (BALL) def. Anastasiia Vasiukhina (MIAMI), 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 6, 5, 1