IU to travel to Georgia for Bulldog Classic

After sponsoring the adidas Hoosier Classic at the end of September, the Indiana women’s tennis team spent the past two weeks gearing up for the Georgia’s Bulldog Classic. The tournament features Georgia Bulldogs, Virginia Cavaliers and Utah Utes, who finished last season ranked sixth, 15th and 34th, respectively.

The Bulldog Classic is structured in a format called hidden duals.

“In the fall, teams don’t really play dual matches, and dual matches have official scoring that require you to use a play date every time you have one,” IU Coach Lin Loring said. “We never actually play the same school in singles and doubles on the same day. It will be really loose as far as the lineup, and I can do anything with my lineup any day that I want.”

In the practices since the adidas Hoosier Classic, the team has worked on staying up on the baseline, its ground strokes, doing a better job mixing up its drives and lobs in doubles, placement of serves and keeping their hands at the net in doubles.

One advantage of a hidden dual tournament is the singles and doubles orders can change every day.

“No one really cares if the other teams’ lineups are in order because it’s not an official dual match,” Loring said. “Everybody just wants to get matches in.”

Seven of IU’s opponents from Georgia and Virginia are nationally ranked. The women will be tested against top-notch singles players, including Georgia’s No. 37 Maho Kowase, No. 53 Lauren Herring and No. 62 Kate Fuller and Virginia’s No. 77 Li Xi, No. 95 Hana Tomljanovic, No. 99 Maria Fuccillo and No. 103 Erin Vierra.

In doubles, Georgia and Virginia each have two nationally ranked teams. The Bulldogs have Fuller and Herring and No. 50 Maho Kowase and Lilly Kimbell. The Cavaliers boast Tomljanovic and Vierra as well as No. 41 Li Xi and Stephanie Nauta.

In addition to the tough match play, Loring said traveling and playing on the road bring new elements to the Hoosiers in the Bulldog Classic.

“We’re playing on the road, which will help get us ready for when we travel in the conference to Iowa and Nebraska,” Loring said. “Since they’re our only matches that require plane flights in the Big Ten, this tournament will be a good trip to simulate competing away from home.”

As the Hoosiers continue their fall season, Loring said they are looking to keep seeking improvement and to work on their doubles play.

On Friday, IU will face Virginia in doubles and Georgia in singles. The Hoosiers will compete in singles matches against Utah and doubles matches against Virginia on Saturday. Sunday, the final day of the Bulldog Classic, will feature singles matches against Utah.