Hoosiers close out fall season this weekend

With out-of-season time approaching, the women’s tennis team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., this weekend for the Western Michigan University Super Challenge.

The Challenge is the team’s last event of the fall season against other schools.

“We know going in that everybody’s going to play three singles and three doubles. We just want to get the matches in,” coach Lin Loring said. “It’s just the last time – we can play matches until January. We go into what’s called our out-of-season time next week where we have limited contact with the players, so this will be the last matches that, as coaches, we’ll be allowed to be at until we start up the first week of school.”

During the out-of-season time, the players and coaches can only work together for eight hours a week, two on the court and six doing strength and conditioning training. Regular practices resume at the beginning of the spring semester.

Their first matches of the spring team season are on Jan. 17 in Bloomington against Western Michigan and Butler.

For now, though, Loring and the team remain focused on the upcoming matches in Kalamazoo against competition including Iowa State, Illinois, Notre Dame, DePaul, Louisville and Western Michigan. The Hoosiers will play three teams in singles and three other teams in doubles, but no team scores will be kept.

“This is our last chance to see them in a competitive situation, which is important because that’s where you really learn what you need to work on in practice, because everybody looks good in practice,” Loring said. “The good things and the bad things come out in competition. It’s our last chance to see them in a competitive situation, and for them and us to know what we need to emphasize in November and December.”