With the regular season complete, the Ball State women's tennis team is on its way to compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Ypsilanti, Mich., today.
The Cardinals are entering the tournament as the No. 8 seed with nine teams in the conference. Northern Illinois will be the first opponent for Ball State.
The team earned only one win in conference play this season. The lone victory came against Northern Illinois 5-2 on April 9. Ball State hasn't won a match since the win.
"I'm feeling pretty confident, I think we had a really good week at practice," coach Christine Bader said. "The girls really stepped up earlier this season against Northern, but we weren't able to win the double point so that is definitely a goal of ours as a team."
The Cardinals have faced turmoil for most of the season, ending with a regular season record of 7-16 and losing 10 of its last 11 matches.
Although the season has been rocky, there have been promising signs from the young team throughout the season.
"We have to take the positives out of those loses," Bader said. "As a tennis player you can lose a match and still learn a lot about yourself and your team from those matches."
Freshman Kristel Sanders hit a stretch early in 2011 where she won three of four singles matches. Those wins propelled the Cardinals to two victories.
Senior team leader Georgina Thomson also provided some hope with a three-match winning streak against Oakland, Robert Morris and West Virginia State.
"I think the team definitely looks to her for leadership, and we can build the team around that," Bader said.
Matches in the first round are No. 1 Miami vs. the Ball State/Northern Illinois winner, No. 2 Akron vs. No. 7 Buffalo, No. 3 Western Michigan vs. No. 6 Eastern Michigan and No. 4 Bowling Green vs No. 5 Toledo.
Miami is the two-time defending champion and has claimed the No. 1 spot in the MAC Tournament. The RedHawks won the MAC regular season championship title for a third straight year.
Miami will face the winner of Ball State and Northern Illinois on Friday at 10 a.m.
Read More
Delta baseball defeats Yorktown in extra innings to become Delaware County champions
By Zach Carter / YesterdayThe 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 / YesterdayThe 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 / 2 days agoNo. 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.
