The Ball State University's men's tennis team will look to get back to its winning ways when it hosts a pair of matches at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center this weekend. After dropping three straight contests against Big Ten opponents, the No. 68 Cardinals (2-3) will face the University of Dayton (0-2) and the University of Indianapolis on Saturday.
The Dayton Flyers, picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 Conference, will be the first match of the day for the Cardinals followed by the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds, who will be playing in their first match of the season.
Coach Bill Richards acknowledges this weekend's contests should provide easier competition for his squad.
"It's a good break from the tough schedule we've had. We've just had a real tough stretch," Richards said.
Richards did warn against overlooking Dayton and the University of Indianapolis, but hopes this weekend's play will help the team with a difficult match against No. 74 Michigan State University on Wednesday.
"We want to try to carry some momentum into the match Wednesday," Richards said. "We want to use these matches as preparation."
Senior Tony Epkey, the team's No. 3 singles player, said the team is better than it has demonstrated recently.
"We haven't shown how good we can be," said Epkey, who doesn't see the Cardinals faltering this weekend against two teams they are expected to beat.
"It's natural to let up, but we definitely don't want to underestimate these guys. We have to approach these matches as if they were Big Ten teams."
Despite the rough start to the season the Cardinals remain ranked No. 68 in the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, a fact that Richards said should make everyone feel very proud.
"To be in that top 75, when there are 275 teams in Division I, is a great accomplishment for our players and program," said Richards said.
This weekend's match against Dayton will begin at 11 a.m., with the second match against the University of Indianapolis starting at 4 p.m.
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