Weekend foes await No. 28 IU team

In the past two weeks, the IU women’s tennis team has dropped two close contests against ranked opponents. The No. 28 Hoosiers hope this weekend’s opponents won’t pose as much of a challenge.\nBut that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten their tough losses.\nLast weekend, IU narrowly lost to No. 19 Wake Forest 4-3, and the week before, No. 23 Tennessee handed the Hoosiers a defeat by the same score.\nJunior Sigrid Fischer said this weekend’s matches against No. 57 DePaul and unranked Xavier will give the Hoosiers a chance to refine their doubles play after losing the doubles points against Wake Forest and Tennessee.\n“For us, it’s time to improve in doubles quite a bit,” Fischer said. “We just need to win the doubles point because it makes it easier to win (the match). Winning four singles is a lot (to ask for).”\nFellow junior Alba Berdala said the team has tinkered with different doubles pairs in practice to see if adjustments need to be made.\n“We’re really emphasizing doubles because the last hard matches came down to doubles,” Berdala said. “We’re pretty good in singles, but we’re struggling a lot in doubles.”\nBerdala said the team has tried some new partner combinations in hopes of mixing things up.\nIU coach Lin Loring said he’s not decided whether the team will compete with new doubles pairs.\nFor Berdala, the home stand is a welcome sight.\n“We feel comfortable at home,” Berdala said. “We know the courts. I think it’s going to be beneficial for us. Last week was kind of rough.”\nAfter her first spring season road trip, freshman Myriam Sopel has a new appreciation for the IU Tennis Center. \n“We didn’t have all the fans we usually have and the guys’ tennis team coming to support us,” Sopel said. “I think we’re going to feel the atmosphere more now that we know what it is to be away.”\nThe Hoosiers were 1-1 in last week’s trip to Winston-Salem, N.C.\nFischer also said the team’s close loss to the Demon Deacons has given the Hoosiers extra motivation to prove themselves this weekend.\n“It was really upsetting,” Fischer said. “I think it was kind of upsetting that we were so close. I think we really want to beat those teams - that we’re ready to kick some butt.”\nLoring said even though the match’s final results were close, he does not think the loss damaged the team’s psyche.\n“I think they feel pretty good about the way we’re playing,” Loring said. “I don’t think confidence will be an issue.”\nLoring also said losing on the road was a good learning experience the team can use in the future.\n“We played on the road in the fall, but I think it was important for the team to see we could play a top-20 team down to the wire on the road,” Loring said. “I thought that was important. That’ll help next time we go on the road.”\nIU will take on DePaul at 10 a.m. and Xavier at 3 p.m. Saturday at the IU Tennis Center.