IU women's tennis upsets No. 10 Tennessee

She was there for the 0-7 loss in 2007, the 3-4 decision in 2008 and another 0-7 defeat last year. In her time at IU, senior captain Lindsey Stuckey had never been on the winning side of the Hoosiers’ annual tilt with the Tennessee Lady Vols.

That changed Sunday.

“I told the team before the match, ‘I have to beat Tennessee once in my four years here and I’m in my senior year,’” Stuckey said. “My first two years we played them pretty tight and then last year we just didn’t have the same momentum. I’m really happy we got away with the win.”

And what a win it was. The No. 37 Hoosiers, fresh off a 5-2 win against Kentucky on Saturday, dropped only the No. 1 singles match to the No. 10 Lady Vols, coming away with a 6-1 victory that ranks among the biggest in recent program history.

Beginning the match with a 1-0 lead thanks to Tennessee’s forfeit of the doubles point, the Hoosiers faced long odds in doubles.

Actions spoke louder than numbers once play was underway, though. The No. 1 match remained close before IU finally fell 8-6. In No. 2 doubles, Stuckey and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva took a 6-3 lead and held on for an 8-5 victory against the No. 20 doubles pair in the country. The outcome in No. 3 doubles was never in doubt. Freshman Leslie Hureau and junior Charlotte Martin cruised to an 8-2 win to clinch the doubles point, a 2-0 lead and momentum heading into singles play.

“I think once they won the doubles point, they knew that the pressure was now on Tennessee,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “All three of the really good programs we’ve beat this year — Wake Forest, Kentucky and now Tennessee — we’ve won the doubles point. That’s big for us.”

Vertesheva and Hureau drew the two ranked Lady Vols in singles. Vertesheva fell 6-2, 6-1 to No. 7 Caitlin Whoriskey, but Hureau pulled an upset on No. 37 Maria Sorbello 6-3, 7-5 to make the team score 3-1. The Hoosiers were one win away from the upset.

Enter junior Myriam Sopel. Playing No. 4 singles, she and Tennessee’s Zsofia Zubor each took a set before a third set ended in a 7-5 match-clinching win for Sopel. Stuckey tacked on a straight set win at No. 5 singles, and junior Katya Zapadalova upset Rosalia Alda for the final margin.

The Hoosiers realize this win makes them a target for the rest of their opponents this season, starting with Oregon next Saturday at 11 a.m.

“We just put a big bull’s eye on our back. I wouldn’t trade it, but we’re going to get everyone’s absolute best shot from here on out,” Loring said. “We’ve got to be ready every time out. We’ve got to be getting better. If we don’t get better, this is going to come back to haunt us.”