NIU Women's Tennis To Play Final Home Matches This Week

The Huskies will play Miami (OH) Thursday and Ball State Friday

April 11, 2007

DeKalb, Ill. - The Huskies (4-8, 0-4), in search of their first Mid-American Conference win, will play their last two home matches of the year this week. On Thursday, they will face Miami (OH) (8-12, 2-4) at 1pm. On Friday, they will face Ball State (7-11, 1-5) at 1pm.

Less is More
NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell has been pleased with how his team has developed, despite the results. At first, he thought the key to getting that development was to be very intense in his coaching style. However, he felt that the intensity wasn't working quite as well as he thought it would. So, he decided to be less intense and it has allowed his team to get the mental and physical level that he has been looking for.

"I've backed off intensity-wise," Ferrell said. "I quit trying to be so in their face because these girls know what to do and how to do it. It's like a flower. If you yell at it, it's not going to grow any faster. I've backed off and allowed them to develop. Once I did that, that's when things began to click."

Now, all the Huskies need is a couple wins to really put them over the top confidence-wise. Then, take that confidence and make a run in the MAC tourney.

Seniors' Last Home Match
Friday's match against Ball State will mark the last home event for seniors Megan Brooks and Chrissy Nagel. Brooks has a career record of 33-59 in singles and also has a 33-59 record in doubles. Nagel has a career record of 20-27 in singles and 14-14 in doubles.

The Redhawks
Miami has lost five of their last seven matches. However, they have some pretty good ability on the team and will be a fair opponent for NIU. The Huskies will have to have near flawless execution to pull out a win.

"[Miami's] a very talented team and to beat them we are going to have to keep it tight," said Ferrell. "We have to stay in there, even though they're going to hit some good shots, we're going to let them hit those good shots, but we're going to continue to fight. We're going to keep the ball in play and not give them the opportunity to run away with it because they are talented enough to do that."

The Cardinals
Ball State has lost six of their last seven matches. They are a gritty team, just like the Huskies. NIU will have to be able to handle their own style of play to pick up the win.

"Ball State is probably similar to us," Said Ferrell. "They're incredibly scrappy. I think we are a little more talented than they are, but they have the reputation of not quitting, ever. We're going to have to be very patient, pick our moments, and not force the issue. We have to continue to play hard throughout the entire match."

-NIU