After four consecutive losses, the Ball State University men's tennis team should dominate its two matches this weekend, senior Joe Epkey said.
Saturday the Cardinals (1-4) will play host to Valparaiso University (0-2) at 11 a.m. and the University of Indianapolis (0-1) at 4 p.m.
"We're definitely a better team than they are for sure," Epkey said. "We just want to go out there and wipe the floor with them. Basically just beat them both 7-0, as bad as we can, as quick as we can."
The only acceptable outcome for this weekend is to win both matches 7-0, Epkey said. He said the Cardinals are better than both Valparaiso and Indianapolis at every position.
"We need to go out there and absolutely dominate a team from start to finish," he said. "To have a chance to do that twice in one day could really help our team, even though they are not at the level of competition we have been playing against."
Epkey said that playing Indianapolis after playing Valparaiso earlier in the day will not put the Cardinals at a disadvantage.
"We know and they know that we are the better team," Epkey said. "They are going to come in not expecting to upset us. They are coming in to try to win one or two spots."
Though Epkey expects to dominate both meets, coach Bill Richards said every team has athletes who can play well.
"I've certainly been doing this long enough to know you can't ever look past anyone or take anyone lightly," Richards said.
The matches against Valparaiso and Indianapolis are the only time this spring Ball State will play two opponents in one day.
"It will be good for us to try to build a little more toughness, a little more conditioning," Epkey said.
To keep everyone fresh, Richards said all eight of Ball State's healthy players will compete in at least one singles match. Richards said sophomore Jorge Rodriguez will play his first singles match of the season because of the extra game and a depleted lineup.
The Cardinals will focus on playing better at the individual level, Richards said. He said if everyone plays well as an individual, it will translate into a solid team performance.
"We just need to try to pick our level of play up," Richards said. "Individually, try not to have any dead spots."
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