Team looks to Big Ten for big wins

The women's tennis team has been playing a game of streaks.\nAfter opening the season with six consecutive wins, the Hoosiers find themselves on a four-match losing streak. Now it is on to the bulk of the Big Ten season for the Hoosiers (7-4, 1-0 Big Ten) to try to get back on track.\nIU travels to Illinois this weekend to face two conference foes. IU meets Northwestern Saturday and Illinois Sunday. Both matches are set for 11 a.m.\nCoach Lin Loring said this weekend could be a good indicator of how the rest of the Big Ten season will unfold.\n"Illinois and Northwestern are the top two ranked teams in the conference, so this weekend will tell us how well we are going to stack up against the rest of the teams," he said.\nNorthwestern (11-2, 3-0) boasts back-to-back conference titles and is 11th in the nation. The team is led by the experience of three seniors -- Colleen Cheng, Shannon Duffy and Jessica Strickland -- and defeated Illinois 4-3 last weekend.\n"The team to beat in the Big Ten is Northwestern," Loring said. "Not only are they the best team in the conference, but they play in an indoor bubble, and that's the only time all year we play in a bubble. It's just a different environment than we are used to. Everything sounds different, and a lot of your timing comes down to sound. If we can give them a tough match there, we will be in good position to beat them at a neutral site."\nFreshman Linda Tran said she does not see the facilities as the biggest obstacle.\n"Its going to be tough, but I've played so many tournaments in bubbles, that it's not that big of deal," she said. "It is definitely going to be colder, and I can see where it would be hard on some players that will be playing there for the first time, but I don't think it is going to affect the outcome of the match."\nIllinois (6-4, 2-1) is ranked 25th in the nation, and has beaten the likes of eighth-ranked Wake Forest. Contrasting Northwestern's experience, Illinois' success has had a lot to do with two freshmen. Newcomers Tiffany Eklov and Jennifer McGaffigan are 6-1 and 4-1 at the No. 3 and No. 4 singles positions, respectively.\nDuring the recent skid, players and coaches said improvement is key.\n"We have been playing some tough teams recently and instead of hurting us, I think that we have improved even if the record doesn't show it," junior Amanda Field said. "I feel completely ready to upset both these teams this weekend. I am ready for a big win"