No. 29 IU looks to extend win streak to 29 matches

The number 29 means two things to the IU women's tennis team. It's their current national ranking, but with two wins against DePaul and Ball State in the team's season opener Saturday, the team could extend a streak of 27 straight spring opener wins to 29 as well.\nThe Hoosiers, whose fall season wrapped up well over three months ago, will first take on DePaul at 9:30 a.m. at the Tennis Pavilion in what IU coach Lin Loring said will be a tough match.\n"Their advantage is that they've already played two matches this year," Loring said. "Our advantage is that it's at home."\nLater on, at 2 p.m., the team will go up against Ball State, a team that Loring said he is less concerned about.\n"We saw (Ball State) earlier this year," Loring said. "Their team usually plays pretty hard."\nLoring said that the lineup for the Hoosiers is tentative and is more of a game time or post-Friday's practice decision, but he did say that senior Dora Vastag, sophomore Laura McGaffigan, junior Sarah Batty and freshman Brianna Williams are likely to compete in singles competition. He also said that he was unsure of who exactly would be competing in doubles and that combinations of doubles teams are something that he is experimenting with.\nThe team hasn't competed since November of last year, and Loring said that he has used this time to work on things like stroke form and strength training.\nVastag, who is now ranked 12th in the Midwestern Region and 90th nationally, said that the winter training is important for the team.\n"I think we all practiced hard over vacation because we start right up when we get back," Vastag said. "Every match we have a tough opponent."\nMcGaffigan, who was recently ranked 25th in the Midwestern Region, agreed with her teammate.\n"We all were working really hard in the fall and over break," McGaffigan said. "I think our team should do really well this season. We have a lot of depth and a lot of good players this year."\nThe Hoosiers ended the 2004 season with a record of 17 wins and eight losses and also a share of the Big Ten title. This was the 16th league title in school history and the team's first since 1998.\nBall State finished its previous season with a record of 11 wins and nine losses, and DePaul ended its 2004 season with a record of 18 wins and nine losses.\nThe Hoosiers defeated Ball State seven to zero and DePaul six to one on March 6 of last year.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andy Romey at aromey@indiana.edu.