Indiana women’s tennis split its matches Saturday and Sunday against Penn State and Ohio State. The Hoosiers came from behind to upset the Nittany Lions, giving them another ranked Big Ten win.
Against Penn State on Saturday, Indiana started slow in the doubles series after the duo of junior Elisabeth Dunac and sophomore Nicole Sifuentes dropped the No. 2 doubles match 6-2.
Freshmen Hi’ilani Williams and Alessandra Teodosescu battled hard but ultimately dropped their match 6-4, giving Penn State an early 1-0 lead.
Senior Nicole Teodosescu dropped the No. 4 singles match in straight sets 6-1, 6-1, to extend the Penn State lead. Alessandra Teodosescu dropped singles No. 1 in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, to push the Hoosiers to brink of defeat with no points on the board.
After being down 3-0, however, it was all Indiana. Sifuentes got the Hoosiers off on the right foot, winning the No. 6 singles match in straight sets 7-6, 6-2, to give the Hoosiers their first point of the match.
Freshman Ameia Sorey cut the game deficit, winning No. 2 singles 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Williams won the No. 5 singles match 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to tie up the score at 3-3. Heading into the seventh point, the Hoosiers looked to close the match and shut down any hopes of a Penn State win.
Dunac secured the match point for the Hoosiers in the No. 3 singles match, winning 7-5, 0-6, 6-1. The results gave the Hoosiers their fourth win in Big Ten play. Indiana previously defeated then-No. 64 Minnesota on March 15, then-No. 45 Iowa on March 27 and Rutgers on April 3.
Against Ohio State on Sunday, Dunac and Sorey dropped the No. 2 doubles match 6-4 and Alessandra Teodosescu and Williams dropped the No. 1 doubles match 6-4, giving the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead.
Indiana was never able to find its footing. Nicole Teodosescu dropped the No. 4 singles 6-0, 6-2. Junior Li Hsin Lin dropped the No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-2, and Sorey dropped the No. 2 singles 6-4, 6-2, giving Ohio State a clean 4-0 sweep.
With the split over the weekend, the Hoosiers’ record moved to 14-9 overall with a 4-7 record in Big Ten play. Indiana will next head to Los Angeles to take on UCLA at 4 p.m. Friday and USC at 3 p.m. Saturday.
