Hoosiers try to end losing skid

The No. 52 IU women's tennis team (5-5 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) looks to rebound from a three game skid when it takes on the No. 12 ranked Tennessee Volunteers (6-2) at 7 a.m. this Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.\nThe Lady Vols recently defeated Wake Forest University 5-0, a team that IU lost to 6-1. Despite this fact, junior Martina Grimm said the Hoosiers will be competitive if they are healthy and have their full lineup.\n"Wake Forest has a great team, but when we played them we competed only with five players instead of six and also couldn't reach our potential due to injuries," Grimm said. "And last year we lost 4-3 against Tennessee, which could have easily gone the other way. If we can get six players on the court, I know that we can be very competitive and beat Tennessee."\nJunior Linda Tran will again be filling in at the No. 1 singles position for senior Karie Schlukebir, who will likely have to play No. 5 singles because she is still unable to play at full strength due to her current battle with cancer. \nTran said she is confident even though she has to move up from her usual No. 2 singles spot.\n"The last couple of matches, I have been playing some of the best players in the country," Tran said. "I am playing the same girl (senior Vilmarie Castellvi) that I played my freshman year. I had nothing to lose, and I ended up beating her. I just need to go out there and swing out on my shots, and hopefully a few balls will go my way."\nTran will need a few balls to go her way because Castellvi is one of the best all-around players in the country this year. Castellvi is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation according to the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. \nThe rest of IU's lineup, unless injuries play their part again, will most likely have freshman Sarah Batty at No. 2 singles, Grimm at No. 3 singles, sophomore Dominika Walterova at No. 4 singles, Schlukebir at No. 5 singles and either senior Jessica (J.J.) Levin or freshman Sophie Rychlik at No. 6 singles. \nTran and Schlukebir will operate as the No. 1 doubles team for the Hoosiers, Batty and Grimm at No. 2 doubles and most likely Walterova and Rychlik at No. 3 doubles if Rychlik is healthy. Schlukebir explained that she and Tran, who have been ranked near the top 10 in doubles this season according to the ITA poll, are ready for their tough match against Castellvi and freshman Melissa Schaub of the Lady Vols.\n"It is a good chance for Linda and I to go out and play one of the top teams in doubles," Schlukebir said. "They are definitely beatable. I know both the girls from junior (year), so it is definitely a winnable match."\nThe No. 12 Lady Vols will be one of the best opponents IU has seen this year and should be a difficult test for the injury-plagued Hoosiers. Grimm concluded that she enjoys playing against better opponents.\n"I think that it's always great to play good teams," Grimm said. "You can just go out there, compete and have fun because there's less pressure on your team"