The women's tennis team will open up its dual meet spring schedule Saturday against the University of Dayton.
Dayton (0-1), which lost 4-3 in its first match of the season to the University of Cincinnati, finished 6-17 last season and tied for 11th place in the Atlantic-10 Conference championships.
Ball State University head coach Kathy Bull said she hopes to use this match as a building block for the first-year players.
"First off, we're looking to get our freshmen settled in to what a collegiate dual match is like," Bull said. "We just want to get the whole team thing going. I'm glad to get the individual matches out of the way because it's time to make the team the most important thing."
Freshman Georgina Thomson said there is a clear difference from the fall season, which utilizes individual matches, to the spring, which is team against team.
"We are going into our dual matches with the mindset that we are playing for the team and every point we play will influence the team in some way," Thomson said.
Bull said one key player, sophomore Sophie Quist, has been in and out of the training room during practices battling shoulder tendonitis. Her playing status for Saturday's match is undetermined.
"We need Sophie in both the doubles and singles lineups," Bull said.
Quist said she has been fighting this "frustrating injury" for six months and hopes to be on the court for Saturday's match.
"[Tendonitis] is something which requires much rest and treatment," Quist said. "At the same time, competing for myself and for the team is equally as important to me."
Saturday's match will be played at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center, the indoor facility of Ball State tennis, which is an advantage, Thomson said.
"We don't have to travel, which means we can go into the match fresh and ready to play," Thomson said. "Playing indoors is always good, as well, as it is a more controlled condition that eliminates such factors as the wind and the sun."
Quist said playing at home puts her "one step ahead of the opponent."
"You are in comfortable and familiar surroundings, you know exactly how the ball bounces, what the temperature inside is and what the lighting is like," Quist said. "As soon as you are warming up at an away match, these are the kinds of things which make the match just that much more challenging."
Saturday's match is set to begin at 1 p.m.
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