IU ready for Hawkeyes, Golden Gophers

After Sunday's close loss to Notre Dame, the Hoosiers are hungry -- and Hawkeyes and Golden Gophers are on the menu.\nIU can solidify a second-place conference ranking with this weekend's pair of road matches against No. 75 Minnesota and No. 49 Iowa.\n"We'll be favored against Minnesota -- it will be a good match-up there though," said IU coach Lin Loring. "Iowa is going to be a real toss-up -- they just beat Wisconsin."\nIU walks into the weekend after a nailbiting 4-3 loss to the Irish.\n"I think hopefully that will give us some confidence," Loring said. "I thought we played pretty well."\nThe No. 37 Hoosiers (11-9, 5-1 Big Ten) square off against Minnesota at 2 p.m. Friday, but the most significant match will be Sunday's 10 a.m. match against Iowa.\nIowa (10-7, 4-2) sits third in the conference, down only one loss to IU. This makes the match pivotal because if the Hoosiers win, they go up two -- but a Hoosier loss would create a tie.\n"I don't think I feel a lot of pressure," said sophomore Laura McGaffigan, who leads the Hoosiers in wins on the spring and year. "I think it's probably more excitement."\nBut as they have all year, the Hoosiers have a chance to relieve pressure with the all-important doubles point.\n"It's going to be real important," Loring said. "Because all singles matches will be toss-ups."\nIU is 11-1 when capturing the doubles point, with the lone loss coming in a 4-3 match with Texas A&M.\nIowa, much like IU, has a top-50 ranking despite being without any players ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Assocation's top 100. Senior Dora Vastag, currently No. 101, is the exception for IU. She has been a blip on the ITA's radar all spring, ranging from the mid-80s to the 100s.\n"Everyone has the potential to win their match," Vastag said. "Everyone is going to have to play hard."\nThe two teams share five opponents. Both are 2-3 against the pool with the two wins coming from Ohio State and Wisconsin.\nMinnesota (5-11, 0-6) will serve up a different type of match.\nThe Golden Gophers rank at No. 75 despite not posting a single conference win, or winning even a match since a close 4-3 victory March 6 over Drake.\nNo. 70 Nischela Reddy is the only Golden Gopher to grace the top 100, and she will likely become the 14th ranked player who Vastag has seen this season.\nThe Hoosiers and the Gophers share five opponents as well, but the records differ drastically. IU again is 2-3 against the pool, but Minnesota is winless.\n"I think a lot of the Big Ten teams are pretty good," said McGaffigan of Minnesota's record. "You can't take anything away from them."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andy Romey at aromey@indiana.edu.