IU splits Big Ten matches with win at Iowa, loss at Nebraska

The No. 32 IU women’s tennis team split its Big Ten matches against Iowa and No. 13 Nebraska (18-3, 7-0) during the weekend. The Hoosiers defeated the Hawkeyes 6-1 Friday evening and suffered a 5-2 loss to the Cornhuskers on Sunday.

IU Coach Lin Loring said defeating Iowa was a great road win for IU because the Hawkeyes are tough to play at home.

“They had match points on Notre Dame when the Irish were No. 19 in the country,” he said.

The No. 34 doubles team of Ruth Seaborne and Morven McCulloch bested sophomore Carolyn Chupa and senior Leslie Hureau 8-4.

IU won the No. 2 and No. 3 matches to earn the doubles point. Sophomores Shannon Murdy and Alecia Kauss topped Christina Harazin and Katie Zordani 8-1 in the No. 2 match. Sophomore Katie Klyczek and junior Sophie Garre defeated Annette Dohanics and Caitlin Hindmarsh 8-4.

The Hoosiers controlled the singles matches by winning five of the six matches. In the No. 1 position, No. 111 Leslie Hureau bested No. 85 Seaborne 6-3, 6-2. No. 112 Katie Klyczek topped Shelby Talcott 7-6, 6-4 in the No. 2 singles match. Chupa, Kauss and Garre won their matches in consecutive sets in the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 matches, respectively. Iowa’s lone singles win was in the No. 6 match, when Hindmarsh defeated Murdy 6-4, 6-4.

“We struggled the first half hour of the doubles,” Loring said. “No. 3 came back from 3-0 down to win the doubles point for us. Then we won some very close first sets in singles and never let them back in the match.”

Nebraska won the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. The No. 3 match was not finished. The No. 11 doubles team of Mary Weatherholt and Patricia Veresova defeated Hureau and Chupa 8-0 in the No. 1 match. In the No. 2 position, Stefanie Weinstein and Janine Weinreich topped Kauss and Murdy 8-6.

Nebraska then jumped out to a 5-0 lead by winning the first four singles matches. Weinstein bested Chupa 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 3 spot.

Veresova topped No. 112 Klyczek 6-2, 6-2 and No. 13 Weatherholt secured the victory for the Cornhuskers when she defeated No. 111 Hureau 7-5, 6-0. Weinreich earned Nebraska’s fifth and final point when she bested Kauss 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Garre and senior Jithmie Jayawickrema won the No. 5 and No. 6 matches, respectively, in consecutive sets to bring the final score to 5-2.

With the victory against IU, Nebraska kept its perfect Big Ten record alive to stay atop the standings. After last weekend’s matches, IU is 15-6 overall this season and 4-3 in the conference. The Hoosiers will play Minnesota next Saturday and Wisconsin on Sunday at the IU Tennis Center.