PREVIEW: Ball State women's tennis vs. Belmont, Western Kentucky

Senior Rosalinda Calderon hits a forehand during her doubles match against IUPUI on Feb. 19. Emma Rogers // DN
Senior Rosalinda Calderon hits a forehand during her doubles match against IUPUI on Feb. 19. Emma Rogers // DN

Belmont Meet details

When: Saturday, March 4

Where: Nashville, TN

Time: 11 a.m.

Western Kentucky Meet details

When: Monday, March 6

Where: Murfreesboro, TN

Time: 1 p.m.


Before spring break, Ball State women's tennis (8-2) must deal with two matches in Tennessee this upcoming Saturday and Monday.

On Saturday, they face the Belmont Bruins at 11 a.m. in Nashville, where the match will be played in the glare of the Tennessee sun. Then, at the start of next week, at 1 p.m, Western Kentucky host the Cardinals just south of Nashville, in Murfreesboro.

The Bruins record stands at 2-7, with both those victories coming at home. One of those wins came in their last match and if all goes well against Dayton on Friday, Ball State could be facing a transformed team.

Similarly, Western Kentucky University (-) is on a three-match win streak and also play a game on Friday which could put them in a very good mood to face the Cardinals on Monday, who themselves have won three in a row. 

But head coach Max Norris said the team doesn’t need to pay attention to anyone else but themselves.

“With Western Kentucky, they’re probably as talented as they were last year. I think our team played well in that match,” says Norris. “They might have underperformed a little in that match but honestly, how good they are or Belmont are, doesn’t matter to me.”

Norris provided a mid-season check of how everything has gone so far. He explained how this season, they were handling their business well in games which were contested more tightly last year. This is clearly shown in their excellent record thus far with only two blemishes to their name.

One of these was the 7-0 loss away to Cincinnati in early February. This has proven a lynchpin in the team’s season.

“Winning and losing,” Norris said, “If that’s all you’re thinking about, you’re going to put yourself at a disadvantage. I think it’s more about handling how you’re competing and how you’re training.”

He reaffirmed this, stating that the team is trying not to think about what could be, what went before and what should happen on paper. This, Norris pointed out, is something which the team needs to be prepared to do when the Mid-American conference matches begin at the end of this month.

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