With three players reaching the semifinals and one claiming runner-up in the Ball State Fall Invitational, coach Christine Bader called her coaching debut a success.
"This weekend was very good, we got a lot of good matches against good competition," Bader said. "We had some good results but we have a lot to work on before the Spartan Invitational next week."
Bader said the biggest thing her team needed to work on was the mental toughness of having to grind out a full day of tennis.
Senior Hayley Hall reached the final singles match in flight B, but at the expense of a teammate.
Her semifinal match, Hall defeated teammate junior Kylee Johnson, which Hall said was difficult to play against her.
"It's really hard to play against a teammate because you want to see them do well," Hall said. "We found ourselves saying ‘nice shot' or ‘get it next time' even though we were playing against each other."
In the final, Hall went up against Illinois State's Hannah Esker. After three sets, Esker had defeated Hall to win flight B.
"I just ran out of gas," Hall said. "It proved to myself that I need to work more on my fitness for the rest of the fall."
Bader said when teammates play against each other in tournaments, it creates friendly competition she finds fun to watch. Bader said Hall and Johnson shared trash talk before the match and they ended up taking it as a challenge match.
"I wish we could have had an all Ball State final," Bader said. "It would have been really nice to see but it was also nice to see the girls in flight B play well."
Junior Dena Boulieris reached the semifinals in flight B but was defeated by Esker, blocking the possibility of an all-Ball State final.
The Cardinals had strong results in doubles play as well with four pairings of players winning matches.
Pairings of sophomore Lauren Pickrel and Johnson, sophomore Paola Rodriguez and Hall, senior Georgina Thomson and Boulieris and junior Sarah Hebble and freshman Kristel Sanders all claimed victories for Ball State.
Throughout the two days of the tournament the weather was mid-80s and for the most part no clouds were to be seen.
Bader said the weather was enjoyable but also showed the toughness of her players.
"This weather was really nice to have since they predicted rain," Bader said. "Towards the end today you could really start to see the weather wear down on all the players here."
Next weekend, Bader makes a homecoming trip to Michigan State University for the Spartan Cup. Bader played her collegiate tennis for the Spartans.
The Spartan Cup will be the second of three fall tournaments for the Cardinals before they start up play again in the winter.
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