The newly renovated Cardinal Creek Tennis Center will see its first collegiate game action this weekend when the Ball State University men's tennis team hosts the Ball State Invitational Friday.
The ten teams will also play at Muncie Central High School for the invitational, which Ball State is hosting for the 29th consecutive year.
Joining the Cardinals in their first tournament of the season includes Bradley University, Butler University, Eastern Illinois University, Cleveland State University, Northern Illinois University, Marquette University, Indiana State University, IUPUI, and IPFW.
Three flights of single's play and doubles play will consume the majority of the event. First round losers in both main flights will play consolation games.
Bill Richards, entering his 36th year as men's tennis coach, said his team practiced hard for its opener.
"We have been playing our inter-squad matches this week to try to get some match play under our belt to simulate match play for the tournament," Richards said. "Right now we are trying to work on doubles a little more and trying to get a lot of play out of a really short amount of time. It is hard when we haven't even been practicing for two weeks yet."
The Cardinals finished the 2006-2007 season with an overall 11-14 record and a 4-1 record in the Mid-American Conference. The Cardinals finished second in the MAC, after Western Michigan University defeated them in the conference title game.
Coming off last season's MAC championship loss, the Cardinals are looking to prepare for today's tournament in a short amount of time.
"A lot of the preparation will go back to what everyone did this summer on their own," Richards said. "You can't prepare for this in two and a half weeks. All these guys had the responsibility to work hard and play tennis this summer, so right now we are just trying to get sorted out with doubles and who is going to be in what flight."
The face of the Ball State roster has changed since the end of last season. Two freshmen, Shaun Bussert and Eduardo Pavia, are new to the Cardinals this season, while eight players rejoin the ranks.
Of these players returning are first team All-MAC selection, junior Jose Perdermo and the returning MAC Freshman of the Year Brett Barryman.
"Typically we have done pretty well in this tournament. We win a lot of different divisions," Richards said.
The Cardinals view this home opener as different than the rest of the tournaments they will play this season.
"It's a matter of pride," Richards said. "Everyone wants to do well, and I think when you are hosting an event at home you certainly have a little extra incentive to do well on the home courts. We have some pretty high goals to win some matches and get out into the draw and give ourselves a chance to get out and make it into the final round."
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