Hoosiers looking to extend winning streak

The IU women's tennis travels to Lexington, Ky., in search of their fourth straight win and their first win on the road. The No. 50 Hoosiers (5-2 overall) take on the No. 34 Wildcats in the team's last pre-conference meet. IU returns home for the weekend to take on Big Ten foes Wisconsin on Saturday and Northwestern on Sunday.\nThe Hoosiers are coming off of a weekend in which they went 3-0, posting wins over Marquette on Friday and Ball State and Indiana State on Sunday. The team got an emotional lift Friday when senior Karie Schlukebir returned after missing two games due to her cancer re-emerging.\nForced to serve underhand, Schlukebir won the clinching game (6-2, 4-6, 6-2) over Marquette junior Genevieve Charron to bolster a 4-3 IU win.\nSunday, IU downed the Cardinals and Sycamores 5-2 and 7-0 respectively. Schlukebir won her match 6-1, 6-0 against Ball State junior Susan Kelly. Another Hoosier returning from injury, J.J. Levin, also picked up a win. Levin, who had been sidelined with a shoulder injury for nearly a year, won her match against BSU senior Alyce Zollman in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.\nCoach Lin Loring said neither Levin nor Schlukebir will play against Kentucky. \n"J.J. is only good for a match a week right now (because of her shoulder injury)," Loring said. "We're giving Karie some time off to let her arm heal."\nWith that, junior Linda Tran will move up to the No. 1 singles position.\n"I've been in a difficult position moving up to No. 1 singles," Tran said. "There are bigger and stronger players and tougher competition (playing No. 1)." \nJunior Martina Grimm has been contributing for the Hoosiers, logging a 5-1 singles record and a 5-2 doubles record with Sarah Batty.\nGrimm has logged a 16-5 overall record this year, good for first on the team. Grimm won 22 matches as both a freshman and as a sophomore, and is on her way to passing the 20-win mark yet again.\n"My game has matured overall because I've been playing tennis competitively for over 10 years," Grimm said. \nThe Wildcats are coming off a five-match homestand after competing over the weekend at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. The Wildcats went 1-2 at nationals, with a loss to eventual champion and No. 4 Duke.\nToday's game kicks off at 1 p.m. at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington. Loring said his team is ready.\n"We're not preparing any differently than we usually do," Loring said. "They're going to be tough and it will be difficult not having Karie or J.J"