2nd place Hoosiers take on rivals

Coming off its most impressive road performance of the spring season, the IU women's tennis team (13-6, 5-1 Big Ten) looks to round out its four-game road stretch by adding two more tallies to the win column. The Hoosiers go back out on the road to face No. 37 Iowa Saturday before taking on the Golden Gophers of Minnesota Sunday morning.\nAfter handing then-No. 25 Michigan its first loss of the season at the Wolverine's new tennis facility, IU continued its ascent in the ITA team rankings this week, as well as in the individual rankings. The Hoosiers, who began the spring season ranked No. 75, have climbed to No. 30 after knocking off several of the nation's top programs. Now tied for second place in the conference, the Hoosiers need two wins this weekend, as they control their own destiny in seeking a first-round bye in the conference tournament.\nLeading IU on its quest for coach Lin Loring's 16th Big Ten crown is newly named Big Ten conference Co-Athlete of the Week Linda Tran. One of Loring's three seniors, Tran was recognized for her performance against Michigan and Michigan State, where she went undefeated at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. With her four wins, Tran became the first Hoosier woman to receive the honor this season and marked only the second time in school history a Hoosier player has won the conference's top weekly honor.\nThe highlight of Tran's weekend winning streak was the match-clinching win over No. 89 Elizabeth Exon at Michigan. After taking the first set 6-2, Tran fell in the second 2-6 before rebounding to win the third 6-4, sealing the IU upset.\n"The only reason for me to receive this honor is because of the team and good players who surround me," Tran said in a statement. "We had several great matches this weekend, and it just happened to be me out on the court with the win to clinch the match against Michigan."\nAs if her singles performance wasn't enough to clinch the conference's top accolade, Tran also won two key doubles matches with sophomore Sarah Batty. Tran and Batty knocked off Michigan's top duo 8-3 before adding to the IU doubles sweep at Michigan State.\n"Linda has always had to play up high in our lineup because of injuries we've had or maybe not having as good of a team as we have had in the past," Loring said. "It's a tough place for her to be (No. 2 singles). On some of the great teams we've had in the past, she might have been our three or four player.\n"It was great for Linda. Hopefully, the momentum can carry her through the rest of the season."\nLoring will need another complete team effort from his squad to stretch its road winning streak to three Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa. Against the ranked Hawkeyes, IU holds the series advantage with a 24-4 record. But in the 2004 campaign, Iowa (11-6, 4-3 Big Ten) is undefeated at home, posting nine wins in the Hawkeye nation and have downed IU in the past two meetings.\nLoring said to keep winning big matches IU will have to utilize its depth to challenge at every position.\n"This past weekend was good for the team, in that we showed we can win when our No. 1 player has an off day," Loring said. "The points came from all over the place, like they have the past few weekends. We don't have to rely on getting a point from one particular person." \nIU faces Iowa at 10 a.m. Saturday before traveling to battle Minnesota at 10 a.m. Sunday.\n-- Contact staff writer Jeff Fuldauer at jfuldaue@indiana.edu.