A recurring theme for Ball State University athletics this year seems to be "Growing Pains." No, not the '80s television show with teenage heartthrob Kirk Cameron. We're talking about the substantial amount of teams (football, men's basketball and gymnastics come to mind) that have relied on underclassmen to play big roles on their team this year, and this year's women's tennis team is no exception.
Head coach Kathy Bull will find out how far her young team has come when they host Wright State this afternoon at the YMCA Northwest. Bull said she doesn't see the youth movement as much of a problem, and actually seems to enjoy it.
"I got to be honest with you, it's a little more fun for me because I like the development part of it," Bull said. "I like challenging them. I like pushing them a little bit to where they need to go, so I'm OK with that."
While she may get a thrill out of that, it's not all fun and games. There's still a fair amount of work and development left for her to do. She also must work to make them mentally stronger. Even though work ethic is not an issue, getting the players to compete at a high level is something that will take some time.
"They're great workers. I don't think they always work smart though," Bull said. "They don't always utilize their intelligence. They want to be ball hitters instead of tennis players, where you have to work some strategy."
New Leader
Carrying the burden for this year's squad will be junior Jessica Thompson. She will play No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Cardinals. Her goals for this season are to help the team finish in the top four in the Mid-American Conference and to get a first-team All-MAC honor as a singles player. Thompson said she is ready for this team to turn the corner this year.
"We're really competitive," Thompson said. "We have six really tough girls that are all pretty even, so we're a pretty good team."
This off-season, Thompson worked on making her serve and her all-court game significantly better, among other things.
"I think I improved on my strength and my fitness just so I can be at a better level when I'm out playing longer matches," Thompson said.
Bull said being a leader is new territory for Thompson.
"For her to shoulder the responsibility will be a challenge for her. It puts her in a position to be the leader of the team. It'll be interesting to see how she handles it. It will be very different for her to be in the one spot than the two spot."
Rounding out the singles lineup for the team will be Stephanie Farrar at No. 2, Haly Calderwood at No. 3, Jennifer Pollack at No. 4, Katie Owens at No. 5, and Emma Retter at No. 6.
Youth Movement
One of the expected strong points for this year's squad is the doubles team. Thompson and Calderwood will team up at no. 1, Farrar/Owens at No. 2, and Pollack/Retter for No. 3.
There are only two players on this year's team with more than one letter, Thompson and Owens. And Owens is the only senior on the team. Owens said she's doing her best to be a leader of the young team.
"This year I feel more confident with myself and the rest of the team, and I feel like I'm taking a leadership responsibility," Owens said. "I feel like it's just kind of building. I'm trying my best to become more of a leader on the team."
Bull said the ability of her young players to improve over the course of the season will come down to her.
"I can't rush it along," Bull said. "I'm smart enough to know that if I skip something in development it's going to come back to bite all of us in the backside down the road anyway. I got to stay in the moment and work on this development.
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