Ball State men's tennis is looking to improve to a .500 record this weekend when the team travels to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois.
"I think it's gonna be a tough match. They've had a very good year," coach Bill Richards said. "They have an excellent record; they've only lost a couple matches. I think they've played an easier schedule than we did, but they only have five losses."
The Cardinals (10-11, 3-0 in Mid-American Conference) head to NIU after going 4-0 over six days. The Cardinals faced the Huskies (13-4, 1-1 in the MAC) twice last season, defeating them 4-3 during the regular season and 4-2 in the 2004 MAC Tournament.
"We did beat them twice last year, but they were two competitive matches, and we're going to have to play well if we want to win," Richards said.
The Cards, including this week's MAC Tennis Player of the Week, Matt Laramore, have yet to drop a match to an unranked opponent this season.
"Any time you can get some individual awards, that's a positive reflection on the whole team," Richards said. "Matt works very hard, and I think he's very deserving of the award. I'm very happy to see him get recognition."
Northern Illinois is picked to finish third in the MAC, while the Cards are picked to finish second.
"Northern's at a level above the other three teams," Richards said. "There's a clear division between the top three and the bottom three teams in the MAC, and Northern is certainly on the top half."
Despite facing one of the MAC's top teams, the Cards will also have to battle the weather again. Last weekend the Cardinals battled high winds against Buffalo. This weekend a poor weather forecast has Richards a little worried.
"We just have to be ready for the elements this weekend. The weather forecast is very poor, and we're going to have to be very flexible," he said. "The indoor facility is an hour away, and we have a lot of unknowns with where we are going to play. We have to go into it with a good attitude with whatever we have to, and play our best despite some of the unknowns."
After facing the Huskies this weekend, the Cards will host the University of Indianapolis next week before traveling to No. 55 Western Michigan to end the regular season.
The Cards are on a four-game winning streak after nearly upsetting then-No. 25 Notre Dame, winning all four games in six days.
"I felt we had a good weekend with the Toledo/Notre Dame weekend," Richards said. "I think we're going into this match with a good frame of mind. I think we will play well, think they will, too. It will be a good, tough match."
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