Hoosiers swing into South Bend

The women's tennis team is back in action today after returning from the Midwest Regional Championships in East Lansing, Michigan last week. \nThe Hoosiers play in the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend, also known as the "Eck Classic" in South Bend. The invite, which starts this morning and ends Sunday, also includes the University of Louisville, Syracuse University, Big Ten-rival Purdue University, and host, Notre Dame.\nEach IU singles players, except for senior Jessica Levin and sophomore Chrisitina Solli who are sidelined with injuries, will compete in both singles and doubles in the competition. There will be two 16-player singles flights, as well as a 16-team doubles tournament. Junior Linda Tran said the format for this year's invite is different from last year's.\n"The format of last year was single elimination and you could have potentially played one of your teammates," Tran said. "This year, you won't have to worry about playing one of your teammates."\nLeading the way for the Hoosiers again this week will be senior Karie Schlukebir. Schlukebir recently filed for a fifth year of eligibility after a battle with cancer ended her freshman and sophomore seasons. She said she isn't preparing for one specific singles player or doubles team from other schools.\n"Really, you just have to work on your own game," Schlukebir said. "You really can't just focus on one player or one (doubles) team."\nTran, Schlukebir's doubles partner, seems much more enthusiastic about playing doubles in the invite. The pair's performance at the Midwest Regionals was solid, but they were upset in the quarterfinals. The pair should have their hands full with Notre Dame's doubles team of freshman Lauren Connelly and junior Alicia Salas, whom they beat 9-7 at Regionals. \n"We (Karie and I) will take each opponent one by one," Tran said. "I'm guessing Notre Dame (doubles) will be our toughest opponent. They'll want revenge after we beat them at Regionals."\nNotre Dame's doubles team could give the Hoosiers competition, but the team shouldn't overlook Purdue's best duo. Freshman Brittany Reitz and sophomore Lara Burgarello turned heads at the Regional Championships when they made it to the event semifinals. \nIn singles, Notre Dame's Salas may prove to be the Hoosiers' toughest singles opponent in the tournament. She was recently ranked as high as No. 86 in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, and made it to the quarterfinals at the Regional Championships. \nThe other doubles teams for the Hoosiers include freshman Sarah Batty with junior Martina Grimm and sophomore Dominika Walterova with freshman Sophie Rychlik. Walterova said that, much like Schlukebir, she hasn't been working on one specific aspect of her game.\n"Nothing is different for this tournament," Walterova said. "However, Sophie and I didn't practice doubles at all this week. We mainly just focused on singles"