This weekend the Cardinals are back to doing what they have done most of the preseason: traveling to a Big Ten school for their match.
"All we're talking about this week is playing good tennis," coach Bill Richards said. "We want to play well enough to go down to the wire and have a chance to win it."
After defeating Dayton and Bradley last weekend in Muncie, the No. 62 Cardinals travel to Bloomington to face No. 53 Indiana.
"I think they're similar to Purdue -- somewhere in that area -- and I felt we gave ourselves a chance in that match. Even though we lost, we put ourselves in a position to win," coach Bill Richards said. "If I had to compare them to someone, I think that one is fair."
Ball State (5-3) heads to Indiana (3-2) with the Hoosiers coming off a loss to No. 61 Louisville.
"I think for Indiana, it's an in-state team that, at least in Indiana, is pretty well-known," Richards said. "It's an opportunity to knock off not only a Big Ten team, but a team everyone knows."
The Cardinals faced Indiana last year in Muncie, and the Hoosiers were able to escape with the victory.
"Last year we lost 4-3 in a winnable match," Richards said. "Hopefully we can put ourselves in the same position. That's our main goal."
This is the Cardinals' fifth road match of the season, and all five have been against Big Ten schools, with all but Wisconsin ranked.
"We got out of balance in terms of home and away matches. This year we play on the road a lot; next year we'll be at home more," Richard said. "We just have to deal with it. There's not anything you can do about it."
Still, Richards suggests that playing a schedule heavy with road games may not be the worst thing.
"We need to be tougher on the road," he said. "We need to be tougher from a mental and emotional standpoint."
The Hoosiers will be the fourth-ranked opponent the Cardinals will face this season, with 2-5 losses against then No. 58 Northwestern and then No. 53 Purdue and a 0-7 loss to No. 1 Illinois. Still, Richards would like to see his team show something more this weekend.
"This is another opportunity to play a good team," he said. " We have to take advantage of some of these opportunities."
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