Hoosiers win 2; remain undefeated in Big Ten

In its first Big Ten home matches of the year, the No. 32 IU women’s tennis team did not disappoint. Defeating No. 43 Iowa in a close 4-3 match and No. 49 Minnesota 6-1, the Hoosiers held on to their Big Ten record.\nThe doubles matches against Iowa were nail-biters, as the pair of freshman Katya Zapadalova and senior Brianna Williams lost to Iowa’s Alexis Dorr and Jacqueline Lee, 9-8. Freshman Charlotte Martin and junior Alba Berdala defeated Merel Beelen and Milica Veselinovic of Iowa 9-8, and with freshman Myriam Sopel and sophomore Lindsey Stuckey’s 8-3 win over Kayla Berry and Lynne Poggensee-Wei, the Hoosiers captured the doubles point.\nThroughout the weekend, the Hoosiers proved their ability to play in the clutch, winning all four of their three-set tiebreakers. IU coach Lin Loring said he was pleased to see the team winning most of its three-set matches.\n“That’s the difference against Tennessee and Wake Forest, where we lost more of the three-setters,” Loring said. “Recently, we’ve just done a really good job. That has been the big difference (during the last four matches).”\nWilliams had an especially tough match against Iowa, narrowly beating Kelcie Klockenga, 6-7, 7-6, 6-0.\n“I don’t think it’s something you can prepare for until you’re in that situation,” Williams said. “Luckily I’ve been in that situation a couple times before. With the experience of being in that position before and being a senior and knowing what to do in that situation and not letting the pressure get to me is really helpful.” \nBerdala said winning close matches has given the team faith it can take on higher-ranked opponents in the Big Ten, such as Northwestern. \n“(Recently) we have had really close matches, where everybody has to put forth a lot of effort,” Berdala said. “The previous matches really prepared us for this past weekend. I think it gives us a lot of confidence, and we can see we have a strong team. It’s giving us so much confidence for the next Big Ten matches.”\nLoring said the team’s training this season has prepared players for high-pressure situations.\n“It’s kind of what you train for all year long, to put yourself in those situations,” Loring said. “You hope you’re going to come up with the big shots when you need it. That’s why you do weight training, that’s why you do conditioning, that’s why you hit a bunch of balls every day – to hopefully come out on top in those (close) situations.”\nJunior Sigrid Fischer was sick for both matches and did not play. Sopel took her place, winning both of her singles matches as well as her two doubles matches with Stuckey. \nWilliams said the team found out Saturday morning that Fischer was not going to compete. This weekend showed Fischer’s value on the team as well as Sopel’s ability to step in her place.\n“It makes you realize how important that person really is in the lineup,” Williams said. “You definitely have to step up your game. Luckily, Mimi (Sopel) was able to come in singles and do a good job. She really stepped up when she needed to. I was definitely proud of her for that. Lindsey and Myriam had also never really played doubles together before. It was pretty impressive that they dominated in their No. 3 doubles position.”\nThe Hoosiers will take on unranked Michigan State at 3 p.m. Friday at the IU Tennis Center before heading on the road to play No. 24 Notre Dame on Sunday.