The crowd at the outdoor courts at the Indiana University Tennis Center let out a raucous cheer. The Indiana women’s tennis team hollered along with them, storming the court to celebrate the victory on April 19.
Sophomore Nicole Teodosescu and freshman Elisabeth Dunac staged a comeback on the No. 3 doubles court, clinching their match after overcoming a love-40 deficit. The triumph also granted Indiana the doubles point, its first since March 9 against Minnesota.
For a moment, Indiana head coach Ramiro Azcui thought his squad may be able to ride the momentum and obtain the elusive first Big Ten victory.
“We played really well against the doubles today,” Azcui said post-match. “I felt like we were going to play stronger in the singles.”
Straight set defeats from four of the six singles matches sent Indiana home defeated, bringing its losing streak to 12 as it finished a winless Big Ten regular season.
Prior to the first serve, the team celebrated graduate students Lene Mari Hovda and Saby Nihalani, who both played their final home match Friday. High level competitors that had rough seasons, Azcui feels the two players will be big losses next season.
“They add so much to the team,” Azcui said. “They’ve been great to the program, and we’re gonna miss them.”
The doubles matches began once the festivities concluded, and Indiana quickly lost the No. 2 match 6-2. Facing a familiar deficit, the Hoosiers responded with a 6-4 victory on the No. 1 doubles court.
Almost at the exact same time, Teodosescu and Dunac were down love-40 in a possible match clinching game, but after a quick talk with Azcui, the duo stormed back to win 6-3.
“I just wanted to make sure we set the tone, and they did,” Azcui said. “When were down 40-love in that game, I told them, ‘Go for it. Don’t hold back, just go for it.’ All of a sudden, [they] were able to win that game.”
Riding a high the team had not felt in over a month, Indiana quickly faltered. A lopsided 6-2, 6-1 defeat on the No. 1 singles court was soon followed by 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-2 losses on the No. 5 and No. 3 singles courts, respectively.
The final nail in the coffin for Indiana’s regular season was a 7-5, 6-2 defeat on the No. 6 singles court, finalizing the 4-1 scoreline in favor of Purdue.
After a 6-7 start heading into Big Ten play, Indiana suffered a 12-game losing streak to close out the season — 11 in conference play. Injuries plagued the Hoosiers in their campaign, especially with their top performer, redshirt junior Lara Schneider, sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Youth also played a factor, Azcui said. In the last three matches, three of the team’s five freshman held spots on the singles lineups. Moving forward, he believes this season can bring positive change.
“This is a great learning opportunity for all the freshmen,” Azcui said. “I saw a lot of development. I saw a lot of growing, a lot of growing pains. I can’t wait for this group in about a year or two to see what they can do because it’s a very talented group.”
The next match on the docket for Indiana is the Big Ten Tournament on April 24 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With all its remaining matches, it’s win-or-go-home. But no matter the outcome, Azcui is a proud coach.
“I’m proud of them,” Azcui said. “How hard they've been practicing every single day. There has not been one day in practice that they have not brought it, and that’s all you want. The wins are gonna come.”
Follow reporter Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates through the Indiana women’s tennis season.
