The No. 70 Ball State University men's tennis team will look to extend its two-match winning streak today against the No. 75 Michigan State Spartans.
The Cardinals (4-3) defeated Dayton and the University of Indianapolis last Saturday and will be seeking their first victory of the year against a Big Ten opponent. The Spartans (4-3) are looking to snap a three-game losing streak after starting off the year 4-0. The Spartans lost at home to Rice on Sunday, but were without their No. 1 singles player, sophomore Nick Rinks, who was out because of an injury.
Senior Tony Epkey doesn't think the Cardinals' previous record against Big Ten teams this year will affect the way they play.
"We are 0-3 in the Big Ten so far," Epkey said. "However, a couple of those matches could have gone either way. We definitely feel like we were capable of winning at least two of those three, we just came up a little short."
Last year, the Cardinals played the Spartans in Muncie and defeated them 7-0. This time around coach Bill Richards sees the match being more difficult.
"It's going to take, man to man, a very solid effort [to win]," Richards said.
He also said that the Cardinals can ill afford any bad performances if they want to come out on top.
One of the difficulties the Cardinals could face is the type of court that Michigan State uses.
"Their courts are very fast," Richards said. "They're a different speed than what we're used to. We'll have to adjust to that."
Epkey thinks if the team comes out with the right intensity, their athleticism will compensate for the faster courts.
"I think the biggest thing is just to keep our energy level up," Epkey said. "I think we have a fairly athletic team. I think that will make up for the fast court. I think most of us enjoy playing on the faster courts anyway. So I don't think it will really be much of an advantage for them."
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