After playing their last two matches on the road and enjoying a spring break trip to Las Vegas, the IU women’s tennis team returned to campus last Friday and have had a week’s preparation for this weekend’s home matches against No. 10 Michigan and unranked Michigan State.
IU is 10-6 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten conference play after suffering a 6-1 loss to Iowa and bouncing back with a 5-2 victory against Rutgers last week in Las Vegas.
This weekend the Hoosiers’ hands will be full, and IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said his team needs to come out strong for the 11 a.m. matches Saturday and Sunday.
“We have to play lights out,” Azcui said. “We are not going to be able to make errors against good teams like Michigan and Michigan State.”
The Wolverines will come into Bloomington at 9-3 on the season. The last time these two teams met while Michigan was ranked No. 10 was in 2013 when IU went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and pulled off a 5-2 upset. Azcui said his team has always managed to play well against the Wolverines despite their high rankings.
Michigan brings in the NCAA’s No. 2-ranked doubles team of Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian, and they will play IU’s No. 41-ranked team in sophomore Madison Appel and senior Kim Schmider.
Appel and Schmider have already beaten two ranked doubles pairs this season against duos from Kentucky and Notre Dame.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” Schmider said. “We’ve been practicing at being more aggressive because if they are aggressive first they’ll have the advantage. So, we’re going to try and make the first move.”
Since their big wins against Notre Dame and Kentucky, the duo has dropped a couple of matches but has a record of 23-4 on the season.
“I think they got a little intimidated after beating Kentucky,” Azcui said. “The bullseye was on their back, and they felt it. I think now they are excited and back to knowing what they need to do to win.”
They were ranked as high as No. 19 this season, and a win Saturday could boost them back up to where they were.
The day after the Hoosiers play the Wolverines, they’ll welcome the 10-4 Spartans to town. Michigan State will play Saturday at Purdue.
“Michigan State is a very good team, and they are well-coached,” Azcui said. “I think we just have to execute what we’ve been doing in practice.”
IU beat Michigan State 4-3 in East Lansing, Michigan, last year but lost to the Spartans 4-1 in the Big Ten Tournament. Azcui said he wouldn’t be surprised if this were another 4-3 matchup between the two squads.
Schmider said the team is looking for that one big win that will propel them to the next level, and this weekend presents the Hoosiers with that opportunity.
“We know that we all have the potential to do really well,” Schmider said. “I don’t think we’ve had that one big win yet, but we just need that one result that is proof practice is paying off.”
