While it won't play the bulk of its schedule until January, the Ball State University men's tennis team will play in its first tournament this weekend in Milwaukee.
The Cardinals will participate in the Milwaukee Tennis Classic this weekend along with Marquette University, Northwestern University and Wisconsin University.
Coach Bill Richards said while the Cardinals are familiar with the teams they will play this weekend, the goal for his team is to simply get everyone on the court so they can improve their playing skills.
"In the fall it's everyone's goal to try and win as many matches as they can," Richards said. "And just try to have some good individual results."
The team has held official practices for two weeks, but Richards said the players, both incoming and those returning to the team, played a good bit during the summer.
"Nobody put their racket down and are just starting from scratch." Richards said. "There's never a week of the year that they aren't playing tennis. It's the nature of the game."
Sophomore Shaun Bussert said he also thinks this team is ready for the season to begin.
"It has been a pretty easy transition for us," Bussert said, "because generally about half the team would come out here and we'd all be hitting for 45 minutes to an hour every day before practice even started."
Freshman Derek Carpenter said these first few weeks of practice have helped every player on the team prepare for the season.
"Over these first few weeks you find out how they play," Carpenter said. "What their strengths and weaknesses are and you look to just try and make them better."
Carpenter comes to the team after winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association boy's singles tennis championship.
Richards said the goal for the first few matches of the season is to observe each player and see how they can improve.
"We haven't really set a lot of goals yet; it's still very early." Richards said. "When we finish up the fall and get into our dual match season, that's when we'll really start to get serious about those types of things."
This year's team is one of the younger teams Richards has had in years. With four players returning from last year's squad, it is clear that the team's two seniors, Jose Perdomo and Jorge Rodriguez, will be looked to for leadership.
"Jose had to play number one last year, and he probably wasn't quite ready for that at that point in his career," Richards said. "I'm certainly hoping that with the experience under his belt he will be a little more ready and a little more understanding of what that job is all about."
Perdomo acknowledges he might have been rushed into the position, but he said he thinks this year will be different.
"Last season I was playing No. 1 also," Perdomo said. "But I think I wasn't as mature as I am this year. I learned from last year that I have to be more vocal with my team and let them feel that I am confident in them, and hopefully we'll accomplish our goals."
Even though he leads a young team, Perdomo has not altered his goals for the season.
"Like every senior that has gone through this program, my single goal is to lead my team to a MAC championship," Perdomo said, "and hopefully also lead them to an NCAA appearance."
Perdomo also said he thinks the last two weeks of practice have helped the team prepare for the long season ahead.
"The chemistry between us is unbelievable, and I am looking forward to this season." Perdomo said.
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