Indiana women’s tennis continued its two-match road trip against the No. 20 University of Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Hoosiers failed to bounce back from their loss to the University of Kentucky on Tuesday, falling to the Volunteers 4-0.
Tennessee opened Saturday’s matchup by securing the doubles point after capturing the win in the first and third doubles match. Tennessee graduate student Tenika McGiffin and senior Daria Kuczer took home the first victory after defeating Indiana sophomore Laura Masic and redshirt freshman Lara Schneider 6-3.
The Volunteers did not let up from there and held off the Hoosiers the rest of the match. Indiana’s players failed to win a single match in both the singles and the doubles matchups. The result marks the second match in a row in which the Hoosiers have been shut out after a similar result against Kentucky.
Although the scoreboard wasn’t in Indiana’s favor, head coach Ramiro Azcui said the Hoosiers played better than what the marker said and was happy with several players' performances.
“I'm very pleased with the way we were stepping up,” Azuci said. “The confidence level is getting higher for all the players. You always want to have the W on your back, but I think the way we competed is definitely going to help us along the way in the Big Ten and for the rest of the season.”
The result also marks the second-straight loss for Indiana to a Southeastern Conference opponent. The Hoosiers will head back to and stay in Bloomington in preparation of their next four opponents.
First up in Indiana’s upcoming home stand is a matchup with Cornell University next Saturday at the IU Tennis Center. The following day, Indiana will face Xavier University.
As Indiana’s nonconference schedule wraps up in the coming weeks, Azcui said he is pleased with how the Hoosiers are improving on the court.
“You want the team to be able to show up and be able to compete every time,” Azcui said. “Keep practicing hard and the enthusiasm, the confidence level definitely is going to help them. The team is just going to keep getting better.”
