After dropping three hard fought matches in a row to Big 10 schools, Ball State's men's tennis team has recovered, defeating Wisconsin 4-3 before taking then No. 68 Purdue out 6-1.
Now the No. 72 Cardinals will look to continue thier streak against No. 55 Indiana today.
"It's another big match for us, another good challenge," coach Bill Richards said. "I think we're going to play our best match of the year to beat them. Any time you play Indiana in the state of Indiana, it's a big deal."
The Hoosiers (3-4) are coming off an upset win over then No. 26 Louisville. The Cardinals have dropped nine straight to the Hoosiers, including a 7-0 loss last year. The last time Ball State defeated Indiana was in Muncie in 1995, when they won 5-2.
"I think it's a match that we have targeted to make a statement," Richards said. "We have not played very well against Indiana for the last 10 years or so. Their courts are a lot different than ours which gives them an advantage when we play there, but when we play against them it should be a big advantage to us."
The Cardinals (6-3) have won all but one doubles point this year and are led by the No. 18 duo of Matt Baccarani and Patrick Thompson. The duo, who is the highest rated doubles team at Ball State since 1992 when Dan Kronauge and Paul Kruse were ranked No. 3 in the nation.
Baccarani and Thompson don't know who they are going to face in doubles. While No. 56 Jakub Praibis and Dmytro Ishtuganov are ranked, Ryan Recht and John Stone have also played in the top slot this season, including against Louisville.
"Any time you're the underdog, the doubles point is very very crucial," Richards said. "If you don't win it, you can't let it get to you, you have to get to work in singles."
In singles, Baccarani will face No. 100 Praibis. The rest of the line up will consist of Matt Laramore, Tony Epkey, Paul Newman, Patrick Thompson and Mid-American Conference Player of the Week Klint Knable.
Richards said the Cardinals will have to play well to upset the Hoosiers.
"I think Indiana is right there, comparable to Northwestern and Michigan," Richards said. "Obviously we're going to have to play a great match to give ourselves a shot to take the win."
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