In spite of its 0-2 start, the Ball State men's tennis team is on a winning streak.
After their 5-2 win against Xavier last Saturday, the Cardinals moved their winning streak to three games.
Going into its weekend matchups with Detroit, Illinois State and Anderson, Ball State coach Bill Richards said it's definitely good to go into the weekend having won three in a row.
"Winning builds confidence, and confidence is a key factor in your performance," he said.
Richards, however, said the wins are behind the team.
"Like I say every week, our record is 0-0, as far as I'm concerned," he said. "I really don't talk much about our record. You put a loss behind you, a win behind you and get ready for the next opponent."
Illinois State is one opponent Ball State needs to be ready for this weekend. Last season, the Cardinals lost to the Redbirds 5-2 on their home court in Normal, Ill.
"We have to improve and play a lot better this year than we did last year," Richards said. "They're a better team this year than they were last year. They'll be the third best team we've played this year, behind Northwestern and Illinois. I'm anxious to see how we measure up. It'll be a huge test for us."
Junior Dalton Albertin and senior Zane Smith are a few of the players that may be tested. In their respective matches against Xavier, both of them lost at the No. 1 and 2 singles position.
Despite the losses, Richards said both players didn't play poorly last week.
"When you're playing at the 1 and 2 spots in the lineup, you're always playing against excellent players," he said. "I thought both of their opponents played exceptionally well. I wasn't really disappointed in the way either one of them played. I think they each had opportunities and they didn't win some pivotal points in games."
Richards, however, said Albertin and Smith do have some issues with their game.
"With Zane, it's mainly a consistency factor," he said. "Even though his opponent [Xavier's Mesa Mei] did play really well, he [Smith] made too many errors. There were too many points finishing with him making an error.
In addition to working with the players' individual games, Richards said he may give senior Andres Monroy some work this weekend. Monroy has been out since the beginning of the fall season with a hip injury.
"Monroy's doing more," Richards said. "Each week, his workload is increasing. He's getting closer to being ready to play. We might stick him in there against Anderson on Sunday night and try to get him a match in there to get him back in it a little bit. But he's not really quite ready to play against Detroit or Illinois State."
As for the keys to victory this weekend, Smith said it's all about attitude.
"We just have to come out, bring a positive energy and enthusiasm," he said. "Not only in doubles, but in our singles play."
Smith said playing at home helps too.
"It's kind of a comfort factor," he said. "You're used to the facility and you have your family and friends there cheering you on all the time. It's definitely an advantage and more fun to play when you're at home."
First serve in the Detroit matchup will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center. The Illinois State and Anderson matchups will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
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