The Creighton men’s tennis team fell to Illinois State University 7-0 in its final MVC regular-season match at the Koch Family Tennis Center.

The Jays couldn’t get the ball to bounce their way on Sunday afternoon. The Redbirds dominated the Jays in their doubles matches and swept them off of their feet in the singles matches.

Together, senior Ryan Norman and freshman Nick Thompson had the best doubles match of the day, losing 8-3.

“Ryan Norman and Nick Thompson played well at No. 1 doubles and a few of the guys were able to make their singles matches somewhat competitive, but they were just too good,” coach Tom Lilly said.

Senior Sean Mathison and freshman Brandon Lee fell 8-2 and sophomore Elliot Baker and freshman August Nysted lost 8-1 in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles respectively.

Norman put forth a strong effort in his final home game as a Bluejay, but fell a little short. He lost to ISU’s Jacob Wilson on court No. 2, 6-4 and 7-6, in the closest match of the day.

Mathison lost on court No. 1 to ISU’s Erik Brunskog, 6-3, 6-2.

“I play a very aggressive game, but I feel I am not attacking as well as I should be,” Mathison said.

Norman and Mathison put up valiant efforts in a losing cause, but the team’s third senior, Billy Paluch, was forced to watch from the sidelines on senior day. Paluch injured his foot in the second match of the year and missed the rest of the season.

Illinois State claimed the last few matches, overpowering Creighton to complete the sweep. Baker pushed Jakub Eisner in the first set, losing 7-5, but got swept in the second 6-0. The freshman trio of Quinn Dippel, Lee and Nysted all lost in two sets.

The Jays finished the regular season with a 0-5 MVC mark and a 7-10 record overall. Creighton will be the No. 6 seed in the MVC Tournament in Wichita, Kan. which begins on Friday.