Strong play brings spring break sweep

As spring arrives, so did the first Big Ten matches of the season.\nThe No. 28 IU women’s tennis team took on its first Big Ten opponent of the season, defeating No. 35 Ohio State 4-3 in Columbus, Ohio, on March 8. The team also competed against unranked Maryland later on in the week, as well as scrimmaging against Florida Gulf Coast University in between.\nIU coach Lin Loring said beating the Buckeyes was a nice change for the Hoosiers after close losses to No. 20 Tennessee and No. 30 Wake Forest.\n“Ohio State was a great way for us to start the Big Ten season,” Loring said. “It obviously came down to the last match and Katya (Zapadalova) won a three-setter. It was a really exciting match. We’ve lost two close (matches) to ranked teams. It was nice to beat a ranked team in a close match.”\nThe team scrimmaged against Florida Gulf Coast University on Monday and Tuesday, which prepared it for its first outdoor match against Maryland.\n“We were actually down 2-1 (to Maryland),” Loring said. “Charlotte (Martin), Brianna (Williams) and Sigrid (Fischer) all won three-set matches. We lost to Tennessee and Wake Forest because they won all three-setters.\nPlaying against the Terrapins also posed a new challenge to the Hoosiers: competing outdoors. \n“It was our first outdoor match and they had already played an outdoor match,” Loring said. “Even though Maryland’s not ranked, they’re a very good team. It was kind of a bonus getting an outdoor match under our belt and winning it, too.”\nThe team defeated Maryland 5-2 to improve its overall record to 12-3. Sophomore Lindsey Stuckey said the week was good for team bonding, as well as adding numbers to the win column.\n“Just traveling as a team we got closer, especially with the new freshmen,” Stuckey said. “It’s nice to spend a lot of time together, especially with the two wins. It was good to take that away with us.”\nWilliams said the whole trip was a good learning experience for the team.\n“I think it’s definitely a confidence booster to win our first (Big Ten) match against Ohio State,” Williams said. “Just playing in Florida was good experience for us to get more outdoor practice. We realized it was a big difference playing indoors and outdoors.”\nStuckey said the team’s road trip has conditioned his players to play on the road and be more comfortable in different environments.\n“Before spring break, we didn’t have that many road trips, just Wake Forest,” Stuckey said. “We got to do a lot more on the road. Usually it’s easier to win matches with the home court advantage. Being away, we’ve learned to take that out as a factor. We’ve gotten used to being on the road, out of our own environment and playing just as well.”\nWilliams said the spring break trip will help the Hoosiers later in the season.\n“At the beginning of the season, we had a lot of home matches and we got really used to being at home,” Williams said. “Now we got a lot more practice being away. I feel that’s really going to help us with all the Big Ten matches.”\nThe team will take on No. 36 Iowa at 11 a.m. Saturday and No. 50 Minnesota at 11 a.m. Sunday. Both matches will take place at the IU Tennis Center.