The Ball State University's men's tennis team will look to stay unbeaten this weekend when it hosts matches against IUPUI and Northwestern at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center.
The Cardinals stand 1-0 on the year after dismantling Wright State 7-0 in the season opener on Wednesday. They face the Jaguars of IUPUI at 5 p.m. on Friday. This will be the first match for the Jaguars, who are ranked third in Mid-Continent Conference preseason poll, this season. Last January, Ball State defeated IUPUI 7-0 in Muncie.
Head coach Bill Richards said his team cannot afford to take the Jaguars lightly.
"We have to make sure that we don't look past them," Richards said.
The Cardinals will be playing the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday at 1 p.m. This will be the third match for the Wildcats as they won their home opener 7-0 against Illinois-Chicago last Sunday and travel to the University of Louisville for a match today.
Richards said it is always exciting to play Big Ten teams, which generally pose quite a challenge to Ball State.
"Northwestern is always very good," Richards said. "They are ranked 51st in the nation."
That 51st ranking places Northwestern 17 spots higher than Ball State's current 68th place ranking. Last year, Northwestern beat Ball State in Evanston 4-3. The Wildcats will be the first of six Big Ten opponents for the Cardinals this season, but the only Big Ten opponent coming to Muncie.
Senior Matt Baccarani, the team's number one singles and doubles player, is expected to return to action for the Cardinals on Sunday after serving a two-game suspension.
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