Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Ball State University women's tennis team is looking to avoid something it has not done since the birth of two-thirds of its team.
Ball State (5-11, 0-6 Mid-American Conference) enters the weekend winless in conference play. The Cardinals have not finished without a win in MAC play since coach Kathy Bull's first season as the team's coach, which was during the 1988-1989 season.
"I've thought about it a lot lately," Bull said. "Obviously I keep it to myself.
"I remember 21 years ago not winning a match, and it was so frustrating."
The last time Ball State finished without a win in MAC play, only three of the nine current Cardinals were born - senior Rachel Surowiec, sophomore Hayley Hall and freshman Kristin McKinney. The rest of the players, who are five freshmen and one sophomore, were not born yet.
To avoid becoming the second team in program history to finish MAC play winless, the Cardinals will have to beat one of the top four MAC teams on the road this weekend. Ball State will play at Bowling Green State University (11-5, 4-2 MAC) today and at Western Michigan University (18-6, 5-1 MAC) Saturday.
While Bull said she has thought about the possible historical significance of this weekend, her players said they are solely focused on the final MAC matches and conference tournament.
"I think right now we're not dwelling on that because we know there still could be a win out there for us," Surowiec said. "So, to be honest, that hasn't come up."
One advantage the Cardinals have against the favored Falcons and Broncos is the lower amount of pressure they face, Bull said.
"There is no pressure on our shoulders," the coach said. "We are playing a couple teams that should maybe feel a little bit more pressure than us. I want us just to be able to go out and enjoy the game and kind of swing away freely."
Surowiec said the Cardinals' attitude has remained positive throughout the season despite the team's struggles. Having a team full of competitors who are really close has allowed the team to remain loose and enthusiastic, she said.
"We're still pretty positive," Surowiec said. "Everybody's still got a lot of fight left in them. So we're actually pretty excited. It seems like each weekend we get a little bit better."
Bull said the Cardinals just have to get a little bit better to get over the hump and get their first MAC win. The team seems to be on the verge of a breakout win, she said, but it just has not clicked yet.
Half of Ball State's MAC losses this season have been decided by one point.
"It's frustrating because we know we're there, we know we're competing, and that's the hardest part," Surowiec said. "Because to lose outright, you know you got beat, but to lose by a match or a doubles point is a lot harder."
The doubles point has been the key all season and will continue to be important this weekend, Bull said.
In all three of their one-point conference losses this season, the Cardinals lost the doubles point. Ball State has not won the doubles point in a MAC match since March 30, 2007 - a time when none of the current Cardinals were on the roster.
"It's crazy because when we play doubles in practice it meshes, like it gels so well," Surowiec said. "But we've been having trouble going into our matches and having all three doubles team on the same page that day."
Bull said her team still has a lot of heart and is showing a lot of promise for the future.
This weekend Bull said she wants her team to remain healthy, see its confidence continue to grow and prepare to stir things up next week at the MAC Tournament.
"All I know is my team mentally is still in it where a lot of teams I think would fold and not enjoy the challenge," she said.
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