The Hoosiers split their two matches this weekend but were able to get the conference win they needed against the Purdue Boilermakers.
It was a cold Saturday morning in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the teams were forced to play inside instead of outdoors.
IU was in need of getting the opening doubles point, which it has not gotten in the last four matches. With this in mind, IU Coach Ramiro Azcui made a change to his lineup.
Instead of pairing sophomores Caitlin Bernard and Natalie Whalen at the No. 2 doubles spot and senior Paula Gutierrez and freshman Pauline Jahren at the No. 3 doubles spot, Azcui swapped Gutierrez and Bernard. With the change, Gutierrez and Whalen were able to score a 6-2 victory against Marta Ruedas and Deborah Suarez from Purdue.
“We haven’t been playing doubles that well,” Azcui said. “I thought we just needed something fresh to try and give us a spark.”
The change worked when senior Kim Schmider and sophomore Madison Appel, IU’s No. 1 doubles team and the No. 41-ranked pair in the nation, got a 6-4 victory against Rafaella Baquerizo and Andjela Djokovic to give the Hoosiers the doubles point and go up 1-0 in the match.
Gutierrez said the team was nervous because it was the first match it had with that combination, but she was pleased with the outcome.
Due to the pair’s success, Azcui said that he may use this combination again to score more big victories.
The doubles point doesn’t win the match, however, and the rival schools were knotted at 3-3 with the match coming down to the No. 1 singles match between Appel and Boilermaker Alex Sabe.
The two were tied 5-5 in the third set when Appel took a 6-5 lead and put herself within one game of clinching the match.
Appel was up to serve for game point. Sabe returned it to Appel’s left and Appel sliced it back over the net.
Sabe had to accelerate to get to it and sent a soft shot over the net, but Appel anticipated it, and, without letting the ball hitting the ground, she sent it to the left side of the court, where Sabe couldn’t reach it.
The Hoosiers rushed the court to celebrate.
“We were all shaking watching Madison’s match,” Gutierrez said. “She stayed calm and played really well and deserved to get that win for us. We were really happy.”
Azcui said the win against Purdue will give his team a lot of confidence.
“I don’t think we were favored to win that match at all,” Azcui said. “We were on the road. It was our rival school, so being able to come up with that win will help us in the Big Ten.”
The Hoosiers traveled back home and played 9-5 Marquette on Sunday.
The teams played several close matches throughout the day, but unfortunately for the Hoosiers, the Golden Eagles were able to pick up the win by a final of 4-2.
Gutierrez picked up a singles win for IU at position No. 2, and Jahren won her singles match in two sets at position No. 6.
Azcui and Gutierrez both said the team was physically and emotionally drained from the 4-3 match against Purdue the previous day.
Despite the loss, IU stayed above .500 with an 11-9 overall record and improved its Big Ten record to 2-3 on the season. Up next, IU will play Illinois on Friday and Northwestern on Sunday. These will be the team’s last home matches of the season.
