Ball State University Athletics
Women’s Tennis Had Bright Future Until Season Was Cut Short
April 24, 2020 | Women's Tennis
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's tennis team had one of its best spring starts under the direction of seventh-year head coach Max Norris. The Cardinals owned a 10-2 non-conference ledger prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that ultimately cut the season short. Ball State was one match away from starting the 2020 Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule.
To some, this year's success may have come as a surprise, as the Cardinals' top four singles spots were held by true freshmen. Jessica Braun played mainly on court one for Ball State, while Emma Peeler saw action at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions. Amy Kaplan competed primarily on courts three and four, while newcomer Emily Desai joined the team in January and made her presence known at the No. 6 slot with a 7-2 mark.
Braun earned MAC weekly honors after posting a 3-0 record the weekend of Feb. 14-16 with wins against Northern Iowa, Findlay and Oakland.
Returning for the Cardinals this season were veterans Rebecca Herrington, Livia Lukacs and Victoria Sec. BSU was looking to overcome the losses of veterans like Audrey Berger, Isabelle Dohanics, Peyton Gollhofer and Sarah Swiderski all of whom helped the program to new heights before graduating.
In seven seasons, Norris has led the program to accomplishments ithad never achieved. Norris is the only coach in program history to take the Cardinals to MAC regular season and tournament titles anda berth to the NCAA tournament (2016). He has coached the Cardinals to an impressive 112-40 (.736) overall mark and a 32-13 (.711) MAC ledger.
This weekend would have been the MAC Tournament which was scheduled to be played in Oxford, Ohio, on the campus of Miami (OH). The last time the Cardinals played at Miami in the MAC Tournament was in 2016 when Ball State knocked off Buffalo and Western Michigan to earn the program's first-ever tournament championship.
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