For coach Kathy Bull, doubles play continued to be the biggest problem for the Ball State University women's tennis team after the Miami Invitational this weekend.
This fall, the Cardinals have struggled in doubles play, and this weekend was no exception. Ball State started out slow in doubles play, losing all of its matches on Saturday.
"We were out of sync and we had to figure out why," Bull said. "We had a lively chat."
The team was able to improve in doubles on Sunday and finished the tournament with a combined record of 3-6. Ball State's Rachel Suroweic teamed up with Isabel Rzezniczek of Austin Peay State University in doubles, but they dropped their lone match together.
Bull said that individuals from different universities playing together in doubles is not common. Because the Cardinals had an odd number of players, it was a chance for Suroweic to get more experience.
In singles action, the Cardinals finished 10-11 over the weekend. The team's best record belonged to Christine Stromberg, who finished with three wins and zero losses in the tournament.
"She's a quick learner, very coachable and a good athlete," Bull said. "She has a lot of tools she can deal with and she seems very comfortable."
Ball State's Polina Askerko, Haly Calderwood and Emma Retter also picked up two wins each in the tournament. Bull said she was happy with the individual performances, especially Calderwood.
"Calderwood had an exceptionally good outing," Bull said. "She's able to be competitive every time she goes out. Haly still has room to grow. She finds a way to be competitive. She's scrappy. She gets it done."
Coach Bull said the Cardinals went into the tournament looking to gain some knowledge on the Miami [OH] University team, which Ball State hasn't beaten in 10 years. She also said the team would have liked to have played Miami more, but they took what they could get.
The Cardinals split the four singles matches they played against Miami, picking up wins from Calderwood and Retter.
Calderwood said that after defeating Miami's No. 1 singles player Katrina Lomidze, she feels optimistic that Ball State can finally topple the Red Hawks.
"They are beatable," Calderwood said. "We just need to believe in ourselves and find their weaknesses."
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