The Ball State men's tennis team heads into the weekend looking at a possible six-game win streak.
If they win, the Cardinals will end February with a 6-1 overall record. A Saturday doubleheader against IUPUI and Detroit Mercy University is the only thing standing in their way.
"These matches are very important for our team," coach Bill Richards said. "We need to win. It would be a setback to drop any of our next three matches. We just need to have the right attitude and do all the right things."
After Saturday's doubleheader, the team plays IPFW in its last match of a seven-game homestand that spanned all of February.
"We knew in this stretch we had a lot of matches we should and needed to win," Eduardo Pavia said. "It would give us a sense of accomplishment that we did what we needed to get done."
Despite the potential streak for the Cardinals, Richards is still looking to get other guys involved.
"We will try and play Detroit as straight up as possible," Richards said. "We will look to split up our lineup against IUPUI. No disrespect to them because we know they will come in ready to play, but that is our opportunity to get guys in."
Today is just another match for Pavia and he is looking to come in playing his best tennis of the season.
"You have to have the right mindset going into these type of matches," Pavia said. "You have to think about the future and think I need to beat this guy to feel good about yourself later. I just try and go out and win by a better score each time. If I win 6-3 the first time, I am looking to go in the next and win 6-2."
After the remaining home matches, Ball State heads West to battle teams in Las Vegas. Richards knows his team will have to step up their game to be successful.
"Any time you go on the road you have to take your toughness to another level," Richards said. "You need to expect to work through adversity. If you play five percent better than you would at home, that is often the difference between winning and losing."
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