The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team bounced back from dropping the doubles point to win a close 4-3 decision over Ball State on Friday afternoon at The Courts of Northwest Indiana in Valparaiso. Freshman Oscar Mendoza (Guayaquil, Ecuador / Interamerican Academy) came through with the biggest win of the day, climbing from behind to prevail at No. 5 singles, clinching the victory for his team. The win was also significant as it allowed Valpo head coach Jim Daugherty to defeat his alma mater.

How It Happened

• The Valpo tandem of Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) and Gabriel Carvajal (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Broward Virtual School [Florida Atlantic]) notched a victory at the No. 3 doubles position after Valpo had already lost at No. 2, so the point hinged on the outcome at No. 1.
• Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) and Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Homeschooled) fought from 5-2 down by winning three straight games to cause a 5-5 tie. However, Chris Adams and Vince Orlando of Ball State were victorious in the remaining two games to pick up the 7-5 victory and clinch the doubles point for the Cardinals (5-4).
• Three of Valpo’s top four players rolled to straight-set victories in singles play. Pecyna was the first one off by grinding out a 7-6(4) win in Set 1 before rolling to a 6-2 Set 2 victory over Thibault De Negri. Ancona also rebounded from his doubles defeat by topping Adams 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1.
• Another quick finish came at No. 4, where Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) pushed past Parrish Simmons 6-1, 7-5. That put Valpo in a position where it needed just one more victory to secure the match, but the remaining battles were all tightly contested.
• Ball State picked up three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 6, making Mendoza’s match the most important one of his young collegiate career. After dropping a lopsided 1-6 decision in the first set of his No. 5 singles match, the Valpo freshman trailed in his second set but came back for a 7-6(5) victory. He eventually took his third set 6-3, sending Valpo to a 4-3 win.

Inside the Match

• Valpo and Ball State matched up on the tennis courts for the first time since Jan. 28, 2012, a 6-1 victory for Ball State. The Cardinals won 15 straight against Valpo from 1998-2012, so Friday’s win snapped a long head-to-head losing streak for the Brown & Gold. In addition, it allowed Daugherty to beat his former team, as he played for the Cardinals from 1974-1977.
• The match was a battle of two longtime head coaches as Bill Richards is in his 48^th season at Ball State and Jim Daugherty is in his 35^th season at Valpo. Richards is the longest-tenured Division-I head men’s tennis coach in the nation and Daugherty is the fourth-longest tenured. (Loyola Maryland’s Rick McClure and Howard’s Larry Strickland are the others ahead of Daugherty in tenure.) Amazingly, Daugherty played his college tennis under Richards before graduating with a degree in business administration in 1977.
• Ancona increased his career win total to 71, which is seventh on Valpo’s all-time list. He’s three away from matching Garrett Gardner for sixth and four away from moving into a tie with Chad Kissell for a spot in the Top 5.
• Langston moved to within three victories of 50 for his career thanks to his singles win on Friday. Pecyna is up and over the 50-win threshold as he now has 51.
• Mendoza earned the fifth singles win of his freshman campaign and his second in dual match play.
• Brozovich and Carvajal are now 3-2 as a pair in dual match action.
• This was the first time this season that the doubles point didn’t indicate the outcome of the match. Valpo was previously 3-0 when winning the doubles point and 0-3 when losing the doubles point.

Up Next

Valpo (4-3) will play the second of back-to-back matches on Saturday evening at Purdue. Live results and a live stream are expected to be available courtesy of Purdue Athletics. That match begins at 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET.