Friends first, teammates second

For some college athletes, friendships between them and a teammate develop during their time training, practicing and travelling together. For two members of the IU women's tennis team, their friendship was created long before the two became Hoosiers.\nJunior Karie Schlukebir and sophomore Linda Tran have been best friends for about 10 years now. Growing up 45 minutes apart in Michigan, the girls frequently travelled together to the same high-caliber junior tournaments. \nBecause tennis is an individual sport, it is rare that such strong relationships result from such a competitive atmosphere. In fact, in juniors, most coaches discourage players from developing close relationships with their opponents for fear of defeat. \nSchlukebir and Tran had approximately 18 months of doubles experience together in junior tournaments. Since the girls were a year apart in age brackets, which are segmented into two-year periods, they would sometimes fall into different age groups and choose not to play together.\nTran and junior Jessica Levin frequently played together when in 18s and won the national indoors tournament. Despite this, when Tran came to IU, coach Lin Loring paired Tran and Schlukebir when he was trying to develop strong doubles teams last year. \n"We didn't play together the previous summer," Tran said, "So I was surprised, but excited, that coach put us together."\nSince then, the girls have been a strong tandem for the Hoosiers. Last season Schlukebir and Tran played No. 2 doubles and finished with an overall record of 23-11. They were 14-5 in duo match play and had an 8-1 record in the Big Ten. Their biggest accomplishment to date was making it to the finals of the Rolex Indoors in the fall. Schlukebir and Tran went 14-3 at the No. 1 spot this past fall, and their spring record is 9-6.\n"The key to our success is having fun," Schlukebir said. "We are always out on the court smiling." \nThe girls also claim their achievements on the court are a direct result of the strength of their friendship off the court. \n"We play well together because we keep the lines of communication open," Tran said. "We have been around each other so much that I know her thinking process and her strengths and weaknesses."\nEven though Schlukebir and Tran spend a lot of time together, they said they remarkably never tire of or get annoyed by one another. \nSchlukebir and Tran will live together next year and are optimistic about this because they have never been in a fight or annoyed each other. \nAs a women's team, the Hoosiers consider themselves to be unusually close, and Schlukebir and Tran exemplify that closeness.\n"I know that they have been friends before college, so coming in I knew that the team would be able to benefit from this," senior captain Amanda Field said. "We build off of their friendship, and in turn they are very receptive to the rest of the team." \nWith the rest of the spring season ahead of them, the girls hope to win the rest of their Big Ten matches and qualify for the NCAAs. \nAlthough older now, the days of travelling together back and forth to Michigan have not ceased. On breaks, Schlukebir and Tran can be seen caravaning back to Michigan and talking from car to car on walkie talkies.