On Feb. 4, the Ball State women's tennis team was off to a 4-0 start, and the rest of the 2012 season looked bright.
Heading into conference play this weekend, the Cardinals are now 5-7 and in sixth place in the Mid-American Conference.
Despite the losses, senior Sarah Hebble has won four of her last five matches since being moved to the No. 5 singles spot.
Freshman Ashlyn Rang is in the middle of a cold streak; she's won just one of her last eight singles matches.
Although the Ball State team is in a down slump, the doubles teams have remained strong. The doubles No. 1 of freshman Courtney Wild and sophomore Kristel Sanders is 8-4 on the season. No. 2 doubles, Rang and Hebble, is also 8-4. The No. 3 doubles team of junior Lauren Pickrel and senior Dena Boulieris is 5-6.
The team has secured the doubles point early in seven matches this season.
On Friday, the team travels to Buffalo to take on the Bulls. Buffalo is 4-6 in 2012, but has won three of its last four.
The biggest challenge Ball State will face when playing against Buffalo will be Marta Stoyanova. Stoyanova is a sophomore from Bulgaria. She is 1-0 while playing at the No. 1 singles spot.
On Saturday, the team will stop by Akron, Ohio, on the way back for a match against the Zips. Akron will be a tough challenge for Ball State. The Zips lead the MAC with 14 wins on the year. Their only loss was a 4-3 decision at Brown.
The No. 1 player for Akron is Zara Harutyunyan, a senior from Yerevan, Armenia. Harutyunyan has lost just three singles matches in 2012.
A 5-7 record may not be what the team wanted when it envisioned its 2012 season, but with a pair of road wins this weekend, the team can improve to .500.
For more coverage on women's tennis, follow @Matt_D_McKinney on Twitter.
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