Team prepares for tourney

The women's tennis team ends its fall season with a trip to Michigan for the ITA/Rolex Midwest Championships this weekend. The tournament kicks off with qualifying rounds today and Friday, and main draws beginning Saturday. It is an individual event, so the team does not gain points. \n"It's the end of the fall season, so we want to do well and gain a little momentum heading into winter training," coach Lin Loring said.\nBecause IU traditionally has a strong team, it has more women in the tournament than teams from smaller schools. Senior Kelly Blanch, sophomore Jessica Levin and freshman Linda Tran are in the main draw for singles. Juniors Amanda Field and Karie Schlukebir, senior Jennifer Hsia and freshman Martina Grimm are in the qualifying round for singles. \nField is a first alternate, so if a player withdraws from the main draw, she would automatically move into that draw. In the doubles brackets, the pairs of Blanch and Levin and Schlukebir and Tran are in the main draw. The combinations of Field and Hsia, and Grimm and sophomore Irina Kharun are entered into the qualifying draw. Field and Hsia are first alternates.\nIt is an elimination tournament, so only one match is guaranteed. Sixty-four players will compete in the singles main draw, and 32 doubles teams are in the main draw. \n"This is a pretty prestigious tournament with the winners qualifying for the national indoor championships," Loring said. "Since everybody is mixed in, we just want to get a lot of matches in. If the women have learned new shots, we want them to use them here."\nThe Midwest region has teams from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. All Big Ten schools will have players entered, except Penn State, which is in the East region. \n"This tournament is fun for the small schools, who often don't get to play a lot of Big Ten teams," Loring said. "It's also fun for the lower players, because they might go against a No. 1 player from another team, something that probably wouldn't happen during the season."\nThe tournament ends with finals Tuesday. The team then starts winter training in preparation for the spring season, which begins Jan. 20 against Western Michigan.\nThe winners of the singles draw and the doubles draw -- and the singles finalist -- earn automatic berths into the Rolex National Indoor Championships in Dallas in February.