Ball State faces a tough task tonight when it travels to Champaign, Ill., to face the No. 1 team in the country and the defending champion, Illinois. Coach Bill Richards says the team isn't putting any extra emphasis on this weekend, though.
"We really just focus more on ourselves week in and week out than our opponents," he said. "We have information on the players, and once we know for sure who we're playing, we look over the scouting reports and look at different strengths and weaknesses."
The No. 63 Cardinals (2-0) begin a four-week road trip this Friday. Ball State will visit four Big Ten schools: Illinois, No. 53 Purdue, Wisconsin and No. 58 Northwestern. The trip to Illinois is not a new thing for the Cardinals, according to Richards.
"We get over there just about every year for something. They have a great crowd, a great student sport group," he said.
In the last three meetings with Illinois, Ball State has gone 0-3, losing 6-1 in 2003 and 2001 and 5-2 in 2002. Still, Richards is not ashamed of this.
"I feel we've competed really well against Illinois in the last five years or so, when they became a dominant force in college tennis," he said.
Illinois has quite an arsenal to face Ball State: four nationally ranked players in No. 39 Michael Calkins, No. 47 Chris Martin, No. 65 Ryler Deheart and No. 74 Pramod Dabir and a nationally ranked doubles team in No. 14 Calkins/Martin.
"Any time we're playing a team where we know we're a decided underdog, we approach it on more of an individual basis," Richards said. "We tell them to play for personal pride and we let the results take care of themselves."
Illinois will also regain two players who took the fall off, and therefore were ineligible for preseason ranking. Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt will return to Illinois' lineup this weekend. Wilson spent the offseason competing in pro tournaments as an amateur, while Stolt was recovering from back surgery. Both men were ranked last season.
"For Stolt, he may be a little rustier than Wilson," Coach Richards said. "Stolt had to put his racket down this fall, while Wilson was competing professionally."
Traveling to Illinois is not an easy task, as the Illini have 20 straight home wins, and a win against Ball State would tie the school record for most consecutive home wins.
"Yeah, it's a tough place to play, but it's fun," Coach Richards said. "I think all our players, and any athlete, like to play in a big arena with a big crowd. I think that any real athlete enjoys that."
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