Hoosiers to face Florida heat in tournament

The IU women’s tennis team is back in action this weekend after two weeks off following the Hoosier Invitational.

The Hoosiers start play today in the University of North Florida Invitational, sponsored by Hampton Inn. All eight players on the roster will participate in both singles and doubles competition against a field of small southern schools.

In a group of teams that includes Florida Gulf Coast, Troy and Georgia Southern, among others, IU sticks out like a sore thumb.

IU coach Lin Loring said the team’s participation in the UNF Invitational had more to with scheduling than anything else.

“We always try to schedule one tournament in the fall to get out of regional competition,” Loring said. “We also like to play every two weeks, so the North Florida tournament was one of only a few that was held this weekend. We’re going to play a bunch of schools that you normally don’t see, which is what we always try to do in the fall.”

The Hoosiers spend the entire spring season playing Big Ten team after Big Ten team, which is the main reason Loring likes to mix it up in the fall. He admitted he didn’t know a whole lot about the talent level of any of the teams in the tournament, but he said his players will benefit regardless.

The weather might end up being IU’s toughest opponent.

“The forecast is saying 90 degrees for this weekend,” Loring said. “We are a little bit worried about that and keeping the girls hydrated because it obviously hasn’t been 90 degrees around here for a while.”