With only one game on the weekend docket, Indiana women’s tennis traveled to College Park, Maryland, to take on No. 54 Maryland. The Terrapins bested the Hoosiers 6-1.
Indiana head coach Ramiro Azcui went in a different direction for the doubles lineups as he continued to deal with the absence of Indiana’s top player, redshirt junior Lara Schneider, who is out with an undisclosed injury. The only Hoosiers that had played together prior to the match was the No. 1 pairing of graduate student Saby Nihalani and freshman Li Hsin Lin.
Even with the changes, Indiana continued to struggle in its doubles matches. Sophomore Nicole Teodosescu and freshman Elisabeth Dunac quickly suffered a 6-1 defeat, and Nihalani and Lin followed shortly after with a 6-2 loss.
Maryland continued its momentum into the singles matches, winning the top three courts in straight sets. The first victory for the Terrapins came from No. 66 graduate student Selma Cadar, who defeated Teodosescu with relative ease, 6-1, 6-2.
Senior Minorka Miranda and junior Kallista Liu followed suit with identical 6-3, 6-1 triumphs, granting Maryland the team victory and improving its record to 12-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Despite the victory already pocketed, the teams finished out the matches.
Indiana’s lone point on the day came from freshman Magdalena Swierczynska, as she took the match 6-1, 6-4 over freshman Aida Eissa. It was the team’s first point in three matches, dating back to March 24 against Penn State.
Graduate student Lene Mari Hovda was the only Hoosier to force a third set after a 6-3 defeat in the first set was followed by a 6-4 victory in the second. Hovda and freshman Diya Challa continued to trade blows as the match reached a 5-5 scoreline, but Hovda was unable to outlast the Terrapin, losing 7-5.
The defeat emphasized Indiana’s struggles over the course of the campaign, extending its season-worst losing streak to nine matches. Heading into their final three matches in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers will attempt to improve their record, as they currently sit at 6-16 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
The first of two weekend games for Indiana will be against No. 32 Illinois (13-6, 5-1) on Friday, April 12, in Champaign, Illinois.
