For the Ball State University men's tennis team to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament, it will have to beat three of the conference's best teams in three consecutive days.
"If you are going to win the MAC Tournament, you have to win three days in a row," coach Bill Richards said. "We didn't deserve to get rewarded so we'll do it the hard way."
Ball State finished in a three-way tie for second place in the regular season with the University of Toledo and Northern Illinois University.
The MAC's tie-breaking policy called for the team with the most individual points in the head-to-head matches between the schools to receive second place. Because Toledo defeated Northern Illinois 7-0, it had the most points.
With the Rockets as the No. 2 seed, the Huskies head-to-head victory against the Cardinals gave them the No. 3 seed. Ball State received the No. 4 seed in the Tournament out of the three-way tie for second.
"We got exactly what we deserved," Richards said. "We have no one to blame but ourselves."
As the No. 4 seed, Ball State has to play a first-round matchup against the University at Buffalo while No. 2 seed Toledo received a first-round bye.
Northern Illinois benefits as the No. 3 seed by playing Chicago State University, who went winless in MAC play, in the first round.
Should they beat the Bulls today, the Cardinals would play three-time defending MAC regular season champion Western Michigan University in the second round. The Broncos won the MAC regular season title outright after beating Toledo Sunday.
The MAC Tournament will be played in Buffalo, N.Y., meaning the Cardinals will be a road team in Thursdays' match against with the Bulls.
Ball State won 6-1 at Buffalo on April 3. The Bulls won the doubles point and the Cardinals made changes to their doubles lineup immediately after the match.
The match will be played at 10:00 a.m. to make room for the afternoon match between Northern Illinois and Chicago State. Friday's potential rematch with Western Michigan will be a chance to avenge the 5-2 loss in Muncie April 1.
Ball State ended the season on a three-match losing streak with Saturday's loss against Northern Illinois, costing Ball State the No. 2 seed and first-round bye.
"What's past is past and what's in the future is in the future," Richards said. "It's the only way you can approach it. We don't talk about anything but Buffalo. We've proven we can lose to anyone so we better be ready to play."
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