Ball State enters the Mid-American Conference Championship with a relatively new lineup, two active letterwinners and one last chance for the team to prove itself at home.
The No. 8 Cardinals (13-9, 3-6 MAC) will be without sophomore Jessica Thompson, one of only three letterwinners on the Ball Staste squad, and the absence will once again force the Cardinals to bump others to higher in the lineup.
Ball State will face No. 9 Toledo (9-13, 1-8) in the first round of the tournament, and coach Kathy Bull said it's important they don't look beyond the first round.
"We need to respect and not overlook our opponent," she said. "That's what I've been trying to get the team to do: to not look too far ahead. In tournament play, as I like to say, you have a clean slate and no record, and we can't let some team seeded a little bit under us take advantage of that."
The Cardinals will again be led by lone senior Jenny Batty, who enters the tournament facing a situation where every match may be her last home match.
"She's growing into the leadership role more and more each week," Bull said.
Batty will be followed in the lineup by freshmen Haly Calderwood, Jennifer Pollack and Stephanie Farrar. While Calderwood and Pollack have earned key victories at times, only Farrar has shown a constant level of production, and wins, throughout the season, posting a 14-4 record.
"Steph has been one of the most consistent performers from day one," Bull said. "If you look, [the freshman] are the heart of our lineup, the 2-3-4. We obviously rely on them pretty heavily."
The conference tournament, in fact, may end up being more about the future of the program rather than the season as a whole.
"I think that when you're a freshman and you're fortunate enough to have a lineup spot, then you've got a big advantage," Bull said.
Weather permitting, the championship will begin at noon today at Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. The first round will pit No. 8 Ball State against No. 9 Toledo and No. 7 Northern Illinois against No. 10 Akron. Ball State will face No. 1 Western Michigan on Friday if the team advances.
"I think that if we get a good match under our belt Thursday, we can do some damage," Bull said.
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