Sunday, February 03, 2008

Box Score

            Valparaiso took to the road for the first time in 2008 on Saturday afternoon but the Crusaders were unable to come up with their first victory of the season, falling 7-0 to Ball State in Muncie, Ind.

            The Cardinals began the match sweeping all three doubles contests.  Jorge Rodriguez and Jose Perdomo downed Mike Wagner (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer H.S.) and Mike Shideler (Valparaiso, Ind./Munster H.S.) 8-4 at number one doubles while Eduardo Pavia and Daniel Vidal topped Tom Litscher (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial H.S.) and Alex Lau (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson Senior H.S.) 8-6.  Shaun Bussert and Joe Vallee defeated Kyle Stump (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth H.S.) and Dan Brunette (Carmel, Ind./Lutheran H.S. of Indianapolis) 8-3 at the third spot.

            In singles play, Shideler won the first set against Perdomo in a tie-break before falling in a super tie-break for the third set 6-7 (2), 6-0, 10-3 at the top of the lineup.  Pavia defeated Lau 6-2, 6-0 while Bret Berryman defeated Wagner 6-1, 6-1 at second and third singles respectively.

            Litscher, who earned a singles win on Friday against Toledo, fell to Jimmy Brannon 6-2, 6-3 at the number four spot while Vidal topped Brunette 6-2, 6-4.  Bussert completed the sweep for Ball State (2-3) with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Stump at sixth singles.

            “I can see improvement from one day to the next,” Valpo head coach Jim Daugherty said afterwards.  “We dealt with pressure better today, but it is tough playing two quality teams back-to-back days.”

            Valparaiso (0-2) will return to action next Saturday with a 6 p.m. match against DePaul in Chicago, Ill.