This past weekend, the IU women’s tennis team returned to Bloomington to split two matches against No. 37 Michigan State and No. 12 Michigan at the IU Tennis Center.
After playing the past five matches on the road, IU sent MSU home with a 5-2 loss.
In doubles, the Hoosiers started the match against the Spartans well, acquiring wins in two of their sets. Senior Shannon Murdy and freshman Stephanie Smith received a doubles point for IU with wins in their set against MSU 8-3.
The Hoosiers didn’t stop there. Sophomore Kim Schmider and senior Katie Klyczek took another doubles point for IU 8-5, while seniors Carolyn Chupa and Alecia Kauss tied their set against MSU 6-6.
In singles, Chupa brought home a point for the Hoosiers with 6-1 and 6-2 wins in each of her games, allowing MSU’s Emily Meyers to score only three points for the Spartans.
Smith also cinched a win for IU, winning two of her three games against MSU’s Athena Trouillot (6-7-6, 4-6, 6-0).
“This was a good team win for us against a ranked opponent,” IU Coach Lin Loring said. “It was great to finally be home. It was also nice to play an outdoor match, but neither of us were really used to being outdoors. I don’t think either team played their best, we just found a way to win most of the close matches.”
On Sunday afternoon, IU fell to Michigan 7-0.
The Wolverine’s Emina Bektas and Alex Najarian took the doubles point with an 8-0 win against Chupa and Kauss. Michigan’s Ronit Yurovsky and Sarah Lee also won the doubles game against Schmider and Klyczek, allowing the No. 3 doubles match to go unfinished.
In singles, Michigan continued to lead the match, winning three of the games against IU.
“We knew we were underdogs against Michigan, so we made the decision to sit two of our starters who are playing injured so that we could be successful in our final four matches,” Loring said. “I still felt we played very competitive against Michigan in many spots.”
What’s important for IU is continuing work on building their skills and winning their next four matches.
“I still felt we played very competitive against Michigan in many spots,” Loring said. “We did several good things that we can build on. We have four conferences matches remaining and all four are up for grabs. If we get healthy and keep playing like we are, we should be very competitive in all four matches.”
This loss against Michigan does not prevent Indiana from receiving a ticket to the Big Ten Championship.
“Everything considered, it was a good weekend for us,” Loring said. “Michigan State was a must-win for us if we want to try and get a first round bye at the Big Ten Championships. Also, they are nationally ranked ahead of us, so that also made it an important win.”
