The woman's tennis preseason begins this weekend when Ball Stateheads up to Kalamazoo Michigan for Western Michigan's BroncoInvitational.
Coach Kathy Bell said going all the way to Kalamazoo was not theworst way to start the season.
"We play twice in Western Michigan in the fall," Bell said,"It's not second best thing to home, but (it's) as close as I'mgoing to get right now."
The invitational includes six other schools, including two fromthe Mid-American Conference: Marquette, Indiana University, DrakeUniversity, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan and WesternMichigan.
This year's Ball State squad has an equal mix of experiencedplayers and newcomers.
"We have four seasoned veterans and four what-we-call rookies,"Bell said. "I'm looking forward to see how they blend together andhow they react to competition."
Players will be scored individually rather than as a team, andthey will compete in various matches over three days.
It will allow the team to get some experience in competition andget them used to playing with each other.
"I'm trying to get the team to discover its personality," Bellsaid. "We take too many risks. We take harder shots than we need tosometimes."
Of the six teams at the tourney, only Western Michigan andEastern Michigan had winning records last year. Easter Michigan wasthe MAC tournament runner-up last season.
The tournament will feature some tough individual competitors.Frederika Girsang of Western Michigan is ranked 62nd in ITA'spreseason poll. IU's doubles team of Karie Schlukebir and LindaTran was ranked 28th in the same poll.
The tourney will allow the players to see some of the playersthey will see later this year. Of the six teams at the tourney,Ball State will face Indiana, Michigan State, Western Michigan andEastern Michigan again in the regular season.
"I just talked to my assistant about writing match critiques onschools," Bell said. "We will get to see a couple conferenceschools and see what they've brought."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
