In the quest to get back into competition in the Mid-American Conference, two giant roadblocks stand in the way of the Ball State University women's tennis team
Ball State (7-10) takes to the road this weekend to face off against two of the best teams in the MAC with a match against the University of Akron today followed by another match against the University at Buffalo on Saturday.
Akron comes into today's match sporting a dominant 15-1 record, with its only loss on the season coming against the DePaul University last weekend.
While it may be an intimidating record to look at, for Ball State, it's just another team on the schedule.
"You go into it like any other match," senior Katherine Rist said. "We had some strong non-conference opponents that I think are going to be similar, so I think we'll be prepared."
The last time Ball State went on at least a two-match road trip was the beginning of March, when it came away with only disappointing results, losing to both Division III DePauw University and the University of St. Louis. Fatigue was cited as one of the reasons for those two losses, but junior Hayley Hall doesn't see that as being an issue this time around.
"I think for Buffalo, we'll do the same thing we did Northern Illinois last week where we spent the night before in the same hotel," Hall said. "I think we'll be pretty rested either way so that won't be an issue."
With only four matches left in the season before the MAC Tournament, Ball State believes it still has time to make some noise in the conference. Facing two tough conference opponents this weekend, the Cardinals' best chance at proving themselves might be right now.
"We might be going in as the underdogs, but that doesn't worry me at all," Rist said. "I still know that we can hang in there on every court and hopefully surprise a few people."
Read More
Delta baseball defeats Yorktown in extra innings to become Delaware County champions
By Zach Carter / May 11, 2024The Eagles defeated the Tigers 5-2 in extra innings to win the Delaware County baseball tournament. It's the first time Delta has won the event since 2017.
'I'm grateful and proud:' No. 6 Ball State falls to No. 1 Miami in MAC Championship title game
By Zach Carter / May 11, 2024The No. 6 Cardinals fell to the No. 1 Redhawks 8-0 in the MAC title game. It's the farthest the Cardinals have advanced in the tournament since 2015.
'Building into something great:' Ball State softball advances to the MAC title game for the first time since 2015
By Zach Carter / May 10, 2024No. 6 Ball State defeated No. 5 Central Michigan, No. 4 Toledo and No. 2 Ohio Friday to advance to the title game of the Mid-American Conference Championship. The Cardinals will face the No. 1 Miami Redhawks. If Ball State was to win, a second game will need to be played due to the Redhawks undefeated tournament record.
