Ball State will take on in-state rival Butler in a special “Cancer Awareness” dedication match on Friday.
In preparation for their upcoming matches, the Cardinals team practiced with their doubles partners and worked on individual depth skills.
The doubles practiced secret hand signals in order to improve court chemistry. Bethany Moore and Kristel Sanders will be paired together in the upcoming matches. The coaches had them rally with Paola Rodriguez and Ashlyn Rang to play around and see what worked.
Last year the team beat Butler 6-1 and IPFW 5-2.
“We’ve got a much stronger team,” assistant coach Whitney Wilson said. “I’m confident.”
Leading the team with an untouched 5-1 record is freshman Courtney Earnest at No. 3 singles. At practice the coaches still weren’t sure where each girl would play, but said they would see as the week goes.
“We’re just really excited, and competitive, [we] work as a team,” said Sanders, a junior from the Netherlands. Last year against Butler she played No. 1 doubles and at No. 2 singles, and she lost the close first set and easily won the second and third.
IPFW has a couple of new girls in their line-up, and “away is much tougher, [because] some hard courts are faster than others,” Wilson said.
“We’ve improved as a team and practiced really hard,” Sanders said after noting that confidence would help them be successful.
The team plays Butler at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Northwest YMCA and IPFW at 7 p.m. on Friday in Fort Wayne. After hosting Butler, the Cardinals will play on the road until after Spring Break. They will play seven times at schools around Indiana, Ohio and Florida.
