The parade of ranked teams continues its path to the Muncie YMCA Indoor Tennis Center when No. 43 Northwestern comes to town Friday.
|
The Wildcats are the seventh and last Big Ten Conference opponent that No. 60 Ball State will face in the regular season. Wisconsin was the only team not nationally ranked when Ball State competed against it. Going into the Northwestern match, the team is 3-3 against Big Ten teams.
Northwestern is 7-2 this season. Ball State is 7-3, coming off a close lose to Indiana on Wednesday.
Head coach Bill Richards said the Wildcats will pose the same problems that Indiana did on Wednesday.
"They're very similar to Indiana," he said. "They're exactly the same level team."
Northwestern and Indiana played earlier in the season, and Indiana won 4-3. The Wildcats had several chances to take advantage of match point though, Richards said.
On paper the Wildcats appear to have a formidable team. They are led by No. 82 Thomas Hauns, who is the No. 1 singles player on the team. Northwestern also has two nationally ranked doubles pairs.
When the Cardinals play on Friday, Richards said there would be several things in the minds of his players.
"I think our guys know that we don't have any margin for error against teams that are at that level," he said. "We just have to go out and try to get the most out of ourselves that we can, and sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don't, and sometimes there is no explanation for it. We have to regroup and get after it Friday night."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
