IU bows out of tournament

The first time No. 37 IU met No. 28 Wake Forest University Feb. 12, the Hoosiers dominated and won 6-1.\nThe Hoosiers found out the hard way how tough it is to beat a team for the second time, as they dropped their first round match in the NCAA Tournament in the final set to Wake Forest 4-3 Friday in Lexington, Ky. at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.\nThis problem wasn't unfamiliar to IU (14-12) as the Hoosiers had a double dip with Michigan. Like with Wake Forest (14-11), IU won the first time around, but lost the rematch against the Wolverines.\nIU coach Lin Loring knew from the outset it would be tough to knock off the Demon Deacons a second time, he said.\n"It is just tough to beat a good team twice," Loring said. "It was the same thing that happened with Michigan. It is tough when you are dead even with a team."\nEven though the Hoosiers and Demon Deacons came into the match with nearly identical records, the match looked anything but balanced. \nAfter No. 2 seed Wake Forest seized the doubles point, winning at No. 1 and 2, they quickly took control of the match in singles play.\nWith the Hoosiers, the No. 3 seed, needing to win four of the six singles match to advance to the next round, they quickly fell behind, losing the first set in four of the six.\n"It is pretty tough to come back when you get down in this type of tournament, said freshman Brianna Williams. "Everybody tried to pull their weight as much as possible and we got as far as we could."\nWilliams certainly pulled her weight by winning her first match in the NCAA Tournament, winning in three sets over Jenna Loeb 2-6, 6-0 and 6-4. The win was the No. 20 of the season for the Tampa, Fla. native.\nWithin minutes of Williams' win, sophomore Laura McGaffigan evened the match up for the Hoosiers with her win against Alex Hirsh 7-6 (5) and 6-3 at No. 3. With the win, McGaffigan finished the season with 27 wins in singles competition, a team high.\nThough her team lost, picking up her first NCAA Tournament win against an unfamiliar opponent was a good feeling, she said.\n"(The win) felt pretty good, especially since it was a close match," McGaffigan said.\nThe wins at No. 3 and 5 along with sophomore Cecile Perton's win in convincing fashion at No. 6 set up a showdown in the final match at the No. 1 spot to advance to the round of 32.\nSenior Dora Vastag split the first two sets with No. 33 Karin Coetzee of Wake Forest, setting up the climatic third set. After rallying to win the second set, Vastag quickly fell behind against Coetzee 5-0. Despite the deficit, Vastag made up ground quickly, cutting the margin to 5-4. However, Coetzee lived up to her national ranking by winning the sixth set and in turn getting revenge from their match earlier in the season.\nAlthough Vastag couldn't come away with the win, her teammates are proud of the way she battled back, McGaffigan said.\n"I definitely think (Vastag) played amazingly," McGaffigan said. "She is just one of those players that she will step it up. We are all really proud of her to make it 5-4."\nDespite the loss the team is already looking to next season and the possibilities, Loring said.\n"Next year they will have men and women finals at the same time. It will be motivation to get to the Sweet 16 next year," he said. "We feel with five of our top six coming back and the four new girls coming in -- we expect to be really solid next year"