It's a position the Ball State men's tennis team is all too familiar with.
Like last season's Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Cardinals are playing as the No. 4 seed.
The seeding had no affect on the team last year, as they were able to defeat No. 1 seed Western Michigan 4-3 in their semifinal match and No. 2 seed Toledo 4-1 in the finals.
Ball State hopes last year's run as the No. 4 seed will continue this year as it faces No. 5 seed Toledo in a rematch of last year's MAC championship.
"Our whole attitude going into this tournament is taking one day at a time," coach Bill Richards said. "We've got to play with a sense of urgency. If you don't, this is a one-and-done thing. There shouldn't have to be any motivational speeches to get the team ready to go because what's at stake is obvious."
Richards was not happy with his team's play in Ball State's previous matchup with Toledo on Apr. 12. Despite winning 4-3, Richards said the team didn't come out with energy or focus in doubles. But the doubles teams of freshman Ray Leonard and junior Dalton Albertin and seniors Zane Smith and Derek Carpenter were able to rebound from poor starts and pull out two victories.
Sophomore Austin Smith also came up big for the Cardinals in their previous matchup with the Rockets. His 6-4, 6-4 victory over Terence Weigand in No. 4 singles clinched the win for Ball State.
"The win was definitely a big confidence boost," Austin Smith said. "At the time I was playing, I had no idea what the score was. I was focused on winning my match. I'm definitely going to use that confidence going into the match today and have the same game strategy when playing my opponent."
In preparation for its opening round match with Toledo today, Richards said the focus in practice this week has mainly been individual stuff.
"We've been fine-tuning a few things and played a little bit of doubles, but we haven't really had the opportunity to do a lot," he said. "It's a very quick turnaround."
Austin Smith said one of the biggest keys to victory over Toledo is picking up the doubles point.
"It takes a lot of pressure off the team, knowing they only have to win three out of their six singles matches," he said.
He said it also comes down to concentrating on your own match.
"We just need to keep our eyes on our own court and do what we need to do to help our team move on to the next round," he said.
Ball State's match with Toledo will begin at 2 p.m. at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts in Toledo, Ohio.
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