During its 2010-2011 season, the Ball State men's tennis team had a 15-12 record and a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament to No. 4 Ohio State. Despite its up and down season last year, the men's tennis team starts the 2011-2012 season with plenty of confidence and motivation.
After winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament in April as a four seed, Ball State looks to build off of its tournament successes and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season.
Senior Cliff Morrison, a Second Team All-MAC selection last season, said winning the MAC Tournament earlier this year gives the team a morale boost going into the upcoming season.
"Now that we've won the MAC Tournament, we know we can do it," Morrison said. "It just gives us more confidence to do better things."
Morrison also said as a result of winning the MAC Tournament last season, Ball State is probably the favorite in the conference this season.
Coach Bill Richards, who is entering his 40th season at Ball State, said the biggest positive from last season's team was their belief in themselves.
"They stayed very strong in terms of their confidence and determination," Richards said. "When it counted, they put it all together in that last weekend and won the conference tournament."
Richards said winning the MAC last season does a lot for the team's confidence this season.
"I felt we had a good team last year, and we didn't have a lot to show for it during the regular season," Richards said. "I think finishing on the high note that we did and returning the majority of that team, it's something we can definitely build on this year."
One area that will continue its building process this season is the singles side of the team. During its 2010-2011 season, the Ball State singles competitors combined for a total win percentage of .526, .45 less than doubles competitors.
Richards said the singles and doubles players have adjustments they can make in their game this season.
"There's not one guy on our team that doesn't have something that needs to continue to improve," Richards said. "A big part of our program is developing players and taking guys that hopefully have their best tennis in front of them. It's a combination of trying to work very hard to not have weaknesses that are going to be exploited and from a mental and emotional standpoint, having the toughness to work through tough times and not get frustrated or discouraged when things aren't going well."
"It's a complicated sport," he said. "There are a lot of different things that have to come together for someone to reach their potential."
In terms of what to look forward to this season, Morrison said he is looking forward to competing in regionals and Ball State's first match of the season against Northwestern.
"The regional is the big thing I am looking forward to playing for the first time in my senior year, which is crazy," Morrison said. "I am also looking forward to our first match against Northwestern. It's always a fun match because it's away and it's starting off the season."
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