Indiana women’s tennis players returned to Bloomington this weekend and held the Hoosier Classic for the first time since 2019.
The three-day round-robin tournament featured four women’s tennis players from Indiana and welcomed players from Marquette University, Middle Tennessee State University, Northern Illinois University and Western Michigan University.
Redshirt freshman Lara Schneider, sophomore Sayda Hernandez and juniors Rose Hu and Mila Mejic played singles Friday and Saturday, then paired up for doubles Friday and Sunday during the tournament.
Head coach Ramiro Azcui used different doubles combinations to prepare his team for the rest of the fall season and the upcoming spring season.
“We're going to have different combinations because we're taking different people to different events,” Azcui said. “I think it gives you just kind of like a starting point to where you want to be, how you want to introduce your doubles, your system and what they were looking for.”
Schneider and Mejic went 3-1 in their doubles games, while Hu and Hernandez split even 2-2 in the Classic.
Schneider, who transfered from Florida State University, was perfect in singles, winning all three matches in straight sets in her first appearance for the Hoosiers. Her combined singles and doubles record stands at 6-1. She said she felt good after her first competition for Indiana.
“It's always really special to play that first match and get to compete under a different team,” Schneider said. “I honestly wish that my family was here, but I had the team support behind me.”
“We all just, in the end, competed really well, including myself,” Schneider said. “I wanted to use this tournament as a gateway into the rest of the fall and the spring season and I think I found my game as the tournament went on.”
Indiana will play again on the weekend of Oct. 8 in the Cincinnati/Xavier Fall Invitational.
For Azcui, the Hoosiers are excited about the talent they get to prepare for the Cincinnati/Xavier Invitational as well as the rest of their fall season, and are looking forward to the upcoming year.
“They're coming together as a group — they're all buying into the system that we have,” Azcui said. “I know I'm preaching the same thing but literally we're really trying to get better every day and I think that's what excites me.”
