Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Tennis Competes at MAC Tournament
April 26, 2011 | Men's Tennis
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State University men's and women's tennis teams will be competing at the Mid-American Conference Tournament which begins Thursday with the championship game scheduled to be played on Saturday.
Both teams are scheduled to play Northern Illinois at their respective venues beginning at 2 p.m. The men travel to Western Michigan while the women will play at Eastern Michigan.
"The tournament is another season within itself," said head men's tennis coach Bill Richards. "We had some tough losses in the regular season and we hope to turn things around in the tourney and make a run at the championship. This season has been crisis management from day one but no one wants excuses. We just have to play better."
The Ball State men's tennis team is led by Richards who is in his 39th season at the helm of the Cardinals. Ball State has won 19 MAC titles in program history, including 16 undefeated MAC seasons. Ball State has participated in the MAC for the last 31 years, claiming 34 regular season and/ or tournament championships. The legacy began in 1984 after the Cardinals posted a 19-5 overall record and an 8-0 stint in league play. Since the MAC tournament format started in 1997, the Cardinals have won the league tournament five times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005).
The last time the Broncos hosted the men's MAC Tournament Championship was when Ball State won the title in 2005 at Sorenson Courts. The Cardinals are the No. 4 seed and will play the No. 5 seed NIU Thursday at 2 p.m. BSU swept the Huskies earlier this season winning, 7-0.
The BSU women's tennis team enters the championships as the No. 8 seed and will take on the No. 9 seed Northern Illinois Thursday in the first round. Ball State earned its lone MAC victory over Northern Illinois earlier this season by a score of 5-2. This will be head coach Christine Bader's first MAC Tournament as the leader of the Cardinals.
"We are anxious to play NIU in the first round of the tournament," said Bader. "We had a feisty and emotional match with them a few weeks ago. The team really stepped up and I am looking forward to playing them this Thursday. We will focus on our doubles this week in practice and plan to play aggressively and with high energy as a team. Our focus will be on winning that doubles point and continue playing with confidence in singles."
For complete tournament information please log onto wmubroncos.com, emueagles.com, mac-sports.com and ballstatesports.com.
