For the first time in a month Ball State's men's tennis team will be at home this weekend when they take on Dayton and Bradley.
"It'll be nice to play at home rather than taking a long drive somewhere," sophomore Matt Baccarani said. "We're fresh and ready to go."
The No. 62 Cardinals (3-3) are returning home from a weekend away, taking a break from traveling to Big Ten schools, to face teams that may not be the same caliber as the teams they have played thus far. Still, coach Bill Richards said that this weekend is just as important as other weekends.
"In matches like these it's not so much who you're playing, but what your focus is," Richards said. "We need to push very hard and play very well. It's hard to get a good result if you don't have a good attitude."
Dayton (1-4) and Bradley (3-0) may not be the toughest opponents the Cardinals face this season, but Richards said that he doesn't want his team to take it easy.
"I think it's my job to make sure my players don't let down, that they don't expect it to be easy," Richards said. "I think any time you go into a match and expect it to be easy, that's when it becomes hard. That's what we have to guard against this weekend."
Baccarani echoed his coach's thoughts.
"We have to prepare the same, it's something the coach warned us about," Baccarani said. "We have to approach it the same and come with the same intensity as if it were a Big Ten school."
Ball State begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Dayton before hosting Bradley at 4 p.m. It's the the second and final time this season that the Cardinals will play two teams in one day.
"No question it's physically challenging to play two matches in one day," Richards said. "We have a small team this year, and so we don't have luxury of splitting time up this weekend."
Sophomore John Gramelspacher will not play this weekend for the Cardinals.
"That takes us down to seven players, and all seven will play in both matches in either singles or doubles," Richards said. "It will be wearing, it will be physically challenging, but we need that for a conditioning effect. It will be good to be pushed this time of year."
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