This weekend's Miami Invitational will be more than a tournament for the women's tennis team. It will also be a scouting trip, according to Ball State University coach Kathy Bull.-á
Bull said the Cardinals enter the tournament with specific goals, such as playing more consistently, finishing off points strongly, improving the doubles play and learning as much as possible about Miami University.-á
"I hope everyone one of us gets to play someone from Miami so we can get more info on them and beat them next spring," Bull said.-á
Miami has proven to be a problem for the Cardinals in the past. Bull said it has been 10 years since the Cardinals defeated the Red Hawks.-á
"It always seems to be a big rivalry," Haly Calderwood said. "Since I've been here and for a while before then, I think, we've never had a win against them in the MAC [Mid-American Conference]."-á
Bull said the Cardinals focused on finishing off points this past week. She said she wants the team to finish points off strongly instead of lightly hitting the ball and letting it float in the air.-á
"We spent a lot of hours working on hitting much deeper, heavier balls on the court," Bull said.-á
Bull is expecting a good weekend from Calderwood, one of the team's most experienced players, and Emma Retter, who is coming off a good weekend at the Ball State Invitational. Bull also said Polina Askerko wants to prove herself as well.
Calderwood said the team wants to exert its presence on the court by coming out and playing strong.-á
"We're hoping to take control on the court," Calderwood said. "I hope to get some good wins."-á
The two-day tournament will be held in Oxford, Ohio, and will start on Saturday. At the Ball State Invitational, the Cardinals struggled on the second day of competition.-á
Bull said she was disappointed that the Cardinals' strong play on Friday did not carry over to Saturday at the Ball State Invitational. In order to improve the team's consistency, Bull said the team worked on conditioning this week in practice.-á
"We got four new players on the team," Bull said. "We've hit the conditioning hard. We have to get those young women stronger."-á
Because Ball State has not beaten Miami in so many years the Cardinals are excited to compete against them, Bull said.-á
"It's not something you want to bring up everyday in practice," Bull said. "But it's something that's good to have in the back of your mind. So I say bring it on."
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