Andres Monroy is always on the move. As he receives every serve his feet stomp and his racket twirls rapidly in his palms. The passion is there — he lets everyone on the court know how his match is going with each yell he lets loose.
The Ball State men's tennis program needs every bit of that passion this season. The Cardinals will expect Monroy, a Mexico City native, to replace No. 1 singles junior Cliff Morrison, who is out with a knee injury.
"Andres is our highest returning player at this point, with Cliff being out most likely for the entire fall," Richards said. "[Monroy] played No. 3 last year, and he's got to take a step forward for us."
Although Monroy had an average year compared to his freshman season, Richards said, expectations are still high.
"He kind of hit a plateau last season," Richards said. "We really need him to break through and have a big-time year for us."
The enthusiasm Monroy brings to the court can be heard far away. He seems to never tire from cheering his teammates, something he says he takes pride in doing.
Richards said he likes the positive emotion and high spirit Monroy brings. He understands every player plays their game different. He lets the emotion of the match play out.
"I let their personality come out on the court," Richards said. "As long as it's not negative. Andres has that South American temperament. He's fiery.
"I like that fire as long as it's in a positive direction."
The junior pre-business major had a big culture shock his freshman year when he came to Muncie from Mexico. He said he relied on his former teammates from
Puerto Rico: Eduardo Pavia, Jose Perdomo and Jorge Rodriquez. All have since transferred or graduated.
Pavia, last season's No. 1 singles player, transferred to Miami (Fla.) during the summer. Monroy said Pavia infused the team with energy. Without Pavia around,
Monroy doesn't mind stepping into that role and doesn't mind creating a spark.
"My first week I came to Ball State, I stayed with Eduardo, Jose, and Jorge," Monroy said. "They helped me a lot my first two years. They were like my parents for me. When I needed something, they were always there. We had the same cultures so we had a lot in common.
"Now that [Pavia] is gone, I have tried to keep that energy going. I want everybody to yell. I want everybody to fight for every ball."
The language barrier for Monroy was a struggle at first. He said in high school he never learned English, only German.
Monroy said he has played tennis for 11 years. As he neared college age, Monroy saw players his age were leaving Mexico City to play tennis in the United States.
Even his older brother, Alfonso, went to Northern Illinois.
"When I was 18, my brother went to college," Monroy said. "When I saw him leave, I knew I was ready also."
Coming to play at Ball State seemed unlikely, but knowing the right people paid off for Monroy.
"One of my coaches in Mexico knows coach Richards pretty well," Monroy said. "So coach Richards had my name in mind."
Monroy said after sending in his papers and a few e-mails later, he was on the team.
"He's a good player," Richards said. "But he can be even better than what he is right now – and we need him to be."
Monroy said the team believes in one another.
"We have confidence in ourselves. You see all these guys with energy out here; you see these guys with a lot of skills," Monroy said. "We want to win for this program and especially for coach."
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