The Ball State University's men's tennis team hopes the third time is the charm as it plays its third Big Ten team of the season.
Both of Ball State's losses this season were to Big Ten teams, and Northwestern University wants to keep the streak alive Sunday in Evanston, Ill.
"We just want to get ourselves in each individual match and give ourselves four points against a good team," Ball State coach Bill Richards said.
The Cardinals are 4-2 and are on a three-match winning streak. However, none of the Cardinals' victories came against a team such as Northwestern.
The Wildcats are 6-0, with their most recent win being 4-3 against Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee plays in the Sun Belt Conference, similar to the Mid-American Conference in which Ball State plays.
Ball State failed to put pressure on its previous Big Ten opponents - the University of Illinois and University of Michigan.
"Every match is going to have to be competitive," Richards said. "Against Illinois and Michigan, we got off to bad starts, and we can't have that happen if we are going to beat Northwestern."
Northwestern is led by Alex Sanborn and Joshua Graves, who are tied for the best national ranking in doubles play. Northwestern is not ranked as a team.
Illinois and Michigan were ranked inside the top 20 when Ball State played them.
Richards said he thinks playing tough teams is important to recruiting the best players.
"We try to play the toughest schedule we can to recruit good players and play the best," Richards said. "Good players are not going to come here if you are playing a weak schedule."
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