Ball State's women's tennis team traveled through the rainThursday to arrive in Tennessee for its weekend tournament, theShoney's/Varsity Pro Shop Tennis Invitational at Memphis.
The Cardinals will be without Jessica and Allison Thompson, whoare nursing undisclosed injuries.
The team will also be coming off a week with very littlepractice, due to poor weather conditions.
"Tuesday afternoon, about an hour into practice, it startedraining," coach Kathy Bull said. "Then on Wednesday, it was justugly out, so we had got about an hour and a half in ... so thatwasn't good. We didn't get to work out some of the problems weneeded to work on from last week ."
Returning for the Cardinals on a limited basis will be KatieOwens and Stephanie Farrar, who were absent last weekend due toshin splints. Farrar will play in both singles and doubles, whileOwens was scheduled to only play doubles entering the weekend.
"With all these injuries, this is not an ideal situation forus," Bull said. "But that's just life."
The other squads in the tournament include Southern Illinois,UT-Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, Murray State, Saint Louis andArkansas State.
"It's a good, deep, solid field," Bull said. "We hope ourplayers get a good five or six matches in, and are ready to play alot of tennis in 48 hours."
While the preseason can be used to determine spring lineups,injuries have plagued the Cards during the off-season.
"Every weekend is such a small window of time," Bull said. "Ithink that's why, when you can get five or six matches over inthese weekend tournaments, it's really helpful.
"When you're dealing with injuries and players not with you, itreally cuts down on opportunities. Hopefully we can get this crewhealthy over the next week."
The season closes out next weekend at the ITA Regionals inMinneapolis.
"Fall is just about opportunities," Bull said. "The moreopportunities you can get on the court, the better off your team isgoing to be next spring."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
