IU to open indoor season at home

The women's tennis team will be back in action this Saturday when they host the Western Michigan Broncos and Miami (Ohio) Redhawks in a dual match tournament. IU first takes on the Broncos at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at the IU Tennis Center, and then the Redhawks at 2:30 p.m. following the first match.\nThe Hoosiers struggled against the Broncos the last time the two squared off against each other in the Bronco Invitational during the fall. In fact, the Hoosiers were swept in all five singles positions in that tournament. But, coach Lin Loring is optimistic the team will come out and compete.\n"The matchups will be totally different this time," Loring said. "We did not have (senior) Karie Schlukebir or (junior) Linda Tran last time, and that will help. Nothing else will be much different."\nThe doubles duo of Schlukebir and Tran is currently ranked No. 28 nationally according to the recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, so having the two compete will provide a big boost for the Hoosiers. But, the Broncos will also field a nationally ranked doubles team in junior Frederika Girsang and senior Melanie Peters.\nLoring said the Schlukebir/Tran vs. Girsang/Peters game will be a matchup between top talents.\n"That should be a really good match because Girsang and Peters are coming off an impressive win versus Notre Dame," Loring said.\nSchlukebir also said the doubles match will be a showcase of talent.\n"We played them in the fall and had a tough match with them," Schlukebir said. "We're ready for them."\nAccording to Loring, the Redhawks do not pose as much of a threat as the Broncos in the invite because of injury troubles.\n"Miami may be the only team in the country who has more injuries than us," Loring said. "We expect Western Michigan to be more competitive."\nAlthough there are not any nationally ranked singles players in this tournament, freshman Sarah Batty and junior Martina Grimm look to maintain the success they had in the fall. Batty went 7-6 in singles matches in the fall, and Grimm was a surprising 11-4.\nGrimm said there are new aspects of her game that she will be demonstrating in this tournament.\n"I've been working on slice and the physical part of the game over the holiday break," Grimm said. "I've done a lot of conditioning to prepare, and we're ready."\nAgainst both Western Michigan and Miami, IU will have three doubles and six singles matches. The Hoosiers can earn a doubles point by winning two of the three doubles matches, and each singles match that is won will earn one point.