Ball State closed out the Mid-American Conference regular season with a pair of road losses on what coach Kathy Bull called "the toughest weekend" of the schedule.
The Cardinals (13-9, 3-6 MAC) started the weekend off in Huntington, W. Va., against Marshall (16-7, 8-1), which has dominated the conference in recent history, winning the last three MAC titles.
The Thundering Herd had no problem with the Cardinals, sweeping them for a 7-0 win; the Cards did not take a single set from the Herd.
"Friday was a pretty tough day with Marshall," coach Kathy Bull said. "I'm pretty impressed with Marshall's lineup from top to bottom. They're very very strong; they just were solid.
"We played hard in doubles and then fell a little short of that intensity level from that in singles, but I am very impressed with Marshall's ability."
On Saturday, the Cardinals came closer to home, facing Miami (16-6, 7-2), where they fell 6-1. The Cards nearly avoided a sweep in doubles with Jenny Batty and Stephanie Farrar falling 9-8 to the RedHawks' Linda Jirouskova and Katrina Lomidze.
In singles, Farrar again proved to be the most consistent Cardinal, and fought back after dropping the first set 6-0, in close sets to defeat Leda Pesatove 0-6, 7-6 (4), 10-8.
Jennifer Pollack also played in a third-set tiebreaker, but fell to Kelly Douple 3-6, 6-1, 10-8
"Really, that could have had a 3-4 match," Bull said. "We're putting a lot of heart into it, our ability's just not up there yet."
The Cardinals were again without the services of sophomore Jessica Thompson, who did not play on the road last weekend.
The rest of the Cardinals fell in two sets to the RedHawks, and the young team finished the year in eighth place in the MAC.
Batty, the lone senior on the Cardinal squad, will get at least one last chance to play at home, as the Cardinals are playing host to this year's MAC tournament. The Cardinals will face Toledo in the first round on Friday.
"We look at it as a one-week season," Bull said. "We wipe the slate clean for the season, and we can't really look at freshmen as freshmen anymore. Now we have a chance to see Jen go out in style."
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