Even while playing at home, the losses just keep piling up for the Ball State University women's tennis team.
Ball State was defeated for the fourth straight match Saturday afternoon, losing at home to Western Michigan University, 7-0.
The loss was the third time this season that the Cardinals have been shutout and pushes their overall record to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
"They're a good team," junior Hayley Hall said. "We did a lot better than we did against them last year. Personally, I just had too many errors in my match, and I think that probably was the same for a lot of our team. But I think we're right there. We just need to keep the ball in a little more."
Playing in its first outdoors match of the season at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center, a strong wind on the day caused the players on both teams to make adjustments.
"With the wind, it makes a huge difference," senior Katherine Rist said. "It can be a big help, but also your preparation, feet, and shot selection has to be better."
But the players also said it was refreshing to get outside and feel the fresh air.
"Personally, I love playing outside. I know a couple people prefer outside and a couple people prefer inside, but this is real tennis." Rist said.
After starting the season 4-1, Ball State will have to climb out of its biggest hole of the season after falling three games under .500. The team's next opportunity will come next Friday when it goes on the road to take on Northern Illinois University.
For Hall, getting back to winning isn't too far off for Ball State.
"We had two pretty tough teams off the bat," she said. "We're significantly better than last year, so it's just a matter of pushing through. So even though we are kinda on a slump, I still think our team is so much more positive because we know we're going on the right direction."
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