MEN'S TENNIS: BSU prepares for another nationally ranked opponent

Team hits the road to face California, No. 36 Washington

Getting back on track with the start of the season, the Ball State University men's tennis team will travel to Seattle this weekend to play nationally ranked talent for the third time on its spring schedule.

Losing to No. 8 University of Illinois and No. 21 Michigan University earlier in the season, the Cardinals will play No. 36 University of Washington and the University of California-Santa Barbara this weekend.

Despite coming off back-to-back home wins against the University of Indianapolis and Valparaiso University, coach Bill Richards said his team needs to keep improving.

"We have to play better then we've been playing," Richards said. "Losing to Illinois, Michigan and Northwestern, those teams were putting more talent on the court than we were. From my standpoint, we just have to keep getting better."

With four upperclassmen on Washington's 12-man roster, the Huskies are on a two-game losing streak with their losses coming to No. 4 Baylor University and No. 22 Texas A&M University in consecutive matches.

Senior Danny Vidal said that the Cardinals' early losses taught the team it can compete with highly talented programs.

"We have to put six guys out there to win," Vidal said. "We are confident we can beat those teams. The kind of schedule we've played opened our eyes that we are just as good as they are."

Moving to 3-3, Richards said his team needs to continue the momentum from last weekend but concentrate on its upcoming challenges.

"Anytime you play teams you're supposed to beat, it's easy not to be focused," Richards said. "Getting a couple wins before a tough weekend is nice, but we just have to keep it up."


More from The Daily






Loading Recent Classifieds...