The women's tennis team (9-11, 3-6) welcomes the Mid-American Conference tournament with open arms. It is a chance to right the wrongs of the regular season, head coach Kathy Bull said.
Eastern Michigan will host the tournament, which runs Thursday through Sunday.
The Cardinals enter the conference tournament seeded No. 7 and will face No. 10 Buffalo, whom they beat 6-1 on Saturday.
The goal for Ball State going into the match will be not to overlook Buffalo, Bull said.
"I think that's our initial task at hand, and that's a difficult thing to do," she said. "Obviously we shouldn't have any difficulty with Buffalo, but at the same time you can drive yourself nuts if you don't take them somewhat seriously."
Head coach Kathy Bull said she would rest sophomore Leisa Brooks for the match against Buffalo, saving her for a possible second round match with No. 2 Eastern Michigan. Brooks has been hobbled much of the year by stress fractures in her legs.
Without a first-round bye for the Cardinals, they need to win four games in four days to capture the championship.
"It's pretty tough," Bull said. "That's exactly the whole point. The whole reason you work to get a good seed is to get some of those days off, and it helps with travel. Everything is stacked against the seven through 10 seeds."
Bull said the key to the tournament would be the ability to forget what has happened in the regular season.
"In my opinion tournaments are for dreamers," she said. "Tournaments are for those who want to right a wrong. It's all about a fresh attitude going into it."
Last season the Cardinals lost 4-0 to Western Michigan in the first round of the tournament.
The singles lineup against Buffalo will be No. 1 junior Melissa Roach (14-5), No. 2 sophomore Jenny Batty (8-11), No. 3 sophomore Jill Wieman (11-9), No. 4 junior Susan Kelley (8-12), No. 5 senior Alyce Zollman (6-7 and No. 6 sophomore Kara Sullivan (4-8).
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