Doubles play key in match-up

The women's tennis team has its work cut out for it at 11 a.m. Sunday in Lexington, Ky. The Hoosiers will attempt to avenge last season's 5-4 loss to a Kentucky squad that returns eight players.\nCoach Lin Loring said he sees this weekend's match as a challenge for the younger Hoosiers.\n"Kentucky is going to be a tough match," Loring said. "We lost to them in a really close match last year, and they have everyone back. That is a big plus on their side."\nPerhaps the biggest key to offsetting Kentucky's experience will be strong doubles play. The Hoosiers are undefeated when winning both doubles matches, thanks in large part to senior Kelly Blanch and freshman Martina Grimm. \nThey are ranked 38th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association with a 6-4 record. Blanch and Grimm look at Kentucky's experience as an advantage to the Hoosiers.\n"Because we played against the same players last year we have really good notes on them," Blanch said. "Plus with the freshmen we have this year I think our styles match up pretty well with Kentucky's."\nGrimm said he agreed.\n"I think experience is always a good thing, but on the other hand it is an advantage for me to be a freshman," she said. "It is just really exciting for me to play people for this first time."\nKentucky's doubles teams are its strength, with the squads of sophomore Sarah Witten and junior Carolina Mayorga leading the way with a national ranking of 21. Not far behind is the team of junior Lauren Rookledge and senior Brooke Skeen, which is ranked 23rd.\nA pivotal match could be the No. 2 singles pairing of IU junior Amanda Field and Kentucky's Skeen. Skeen is Kentucky's lone senior and was ranked as high as 25th last year. Field has come on strong at solidifying the No. 2 singles spot, as she demonstrated in the Big Ten opener against Iowa Saturday. Field sealed the 4-3 team win with a three-set tiebreaker in the final match.\nField said she likes IU's odds of pulling out the win.\n"Kentucky is a good team, but I think we have a really good chance of taking them," she said. "The team has been playing really well so far this season, and I can't wait to see how everything unfolds." \nWith this being the Hoosiers' second of five consecutive matches away from Bloomington, Loring said he is optimistic but cautious.\n"We have really improved a lot so far this season by playing some highly ranked teams, and we will continue to get a little better every match," he said. "But we are really in for a tough stretch with all these matches on the road"