After a six-game homestand to start the season, the Ball State University women's tennis team will finally take to the road this weekend against Chicago State University today and Valparaiso University on Saturday.
The two game road trip will put the team through a tough endurance test. Friday's match will start at 8 p.m., while Saturday's match will begin 20 hours later at 4 p.m., leaving a shorter amount of time than usual for the team to recuperate.
Coach Amy Behrman doesn't think it will be a problem.
"I'm not worried," Behrman said. "As long as we're good in warm-ups and get some cardio in at the hotel, we should be fine."
On the heels of a tough loss to Morehead State University on Sunday, Behrman is looking to get the entire team playing on a consistent level.
"We've just been concentrating this week on putting everything together," she said. "During that match I thought we were playing too passive, so we have to be more intense this weekend."
The Ball State doubles play has made significant strides in its play recently. After starting the season with a 3-6 record, the doubles teams gone 9-0 since, pushing the overall record to 12-6.
However, the singles play is struggling after a hot start to the season. It was the downfall of the team against Morehead State and Ball State was only able to win two singles matches while losing four.
Behrman said that she hopes both the singles and doubles teams can come away with strong performances this weekend.
Despite the recent struggles, the team is still confident and believes in each other heading into the rest of the season.
"We still stand by each other and cheer each other on even in losses," junior Hayley Hall said. "We're such good friends that we just want each other to do well."
The team was encouraging on Sunday. As Sarah Hebble was playing in tiebreaker match, every member of the team was anxiously standing on the sideline, bursting into cheers every time Hebble scored a point.
Behrman says chemistry on the team has been a big part of Ball State's success.
"To go out there with everybody watching you and see nine other girls backing you up on every point, it really does help," Behrman said.
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