The Ball State University women's tennis team will look to break .500, in both overall and conference play, as the team completes its regular season this weekend.
There's going to be quite a bit of traveling involved for the Cardinals. The University of Akron will play host to the Cardinals on Friday, and then the team travels to New York to take on the University at Buffalo. Coach Kathy Bull said the distance traveled will not affect her team.
"We're actually traveling via bus as opposed to minivan so that is different for us," Bull said. "I'm more concerned because we're having flat practices."
Akron comes into Friday's match with a 5-13 record, and is second-to-last in the Mid-American Conference with a 1-5 mark.
Record-wise, the Zips' best player is Jenna Larson, who is 9-7 overall on the year, but has been moved around between the No. 2, 3, 4 and 6 spots. Larson is 6-1 when she plays at No. 4 singles.
"They are such a young team," Bull said. "We hardly have any information on them. We're going into that match a little blind. I hope we're determined enough to step it up and play well. We really need that match."
Buffalo enters the weekend 12-4 on the year and 4-2 in the MAC. The Bulls have won four consecutive matches. Every singles player for the Bulls has a winning record, which will give the Cardinals some problems.
"We're going uphill," Bull said. "It's going to be a tough matchup. There's a whole lot of mental preparation my team needs to focus on. They need to not worry about their opponents and take care of themselves."
Their leader is No. 1 singles player Andreea Novaceanu, who is 14-2 on the year, but lost her last match to Northern Illinois' Jenny Ednar. Ball State's Jessica Thompson, who will match up with Novaceanu, defeated Ednar two weekends ago.
[Novaceanu's] very good," Bull said. "She's very solid. She's one of the best players in our conference right now."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
