Men's swimming and diving head coach Bob Thomas has never beaten Michigan State University in his 24 years at Ball State.
Last year the Spartans traveled to Muncie and beat the Cardinals 130-113. In 2001 Ball State saw a similar margin of defeat at East Lansing, Mich.
Thomas gets another chance to defeat Michigan State as his Cardinals journey north to East Lansing on Saturday, boasting an 8-1 record in dual meets.
A quick glance at the Spartan schedule shows only one win over the University of California-Irvine, but a closer look reveals quality losses to top-ranked Michigan and 26th-ranked Indiana.
"They are definitely stronger, but they cannot take us lightly," Thomas said. "But if they go into it overlooking us it could turn into a real dogfight and come down to the very end."
Ball State saw its best times of the year in the last meet at Akron after the Thanksgiving break. Thomas said this break would be as beneficial because it would bring fast times as well.
"[Our times] will not be as fast as Akron, but I would like to see them faster than our other dual meets, prior to Akron," he said.
Thomas said the team that is better prepared Saturday will make the difference.
"Our evaluation is not necessarily whether we win or lose," he said. "It is how each individual swims, how they perform against their previous bests. That is how I will be evaluating them: on their times."
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