Tran steps up to No.1 Big Ten spot

Junior women's tennis player Linda Tran made it her goal before coming to college to play in the No. 1 spot at a Division I university by her junior year. Tran has accomplished that goal by starting in the No. 1 singles and doubles spots this year for the Hoosiers. \n"It has been nice to receive that honor this year," Tran said. "Although I knew it was a tough position to play, I didn't realize how under-prepared I was. I have used this season as a building block for next year."\nThis season, Tran has a singles record of 11-15, 2-5 in the Big Ten and a 16-5, 5-1 doubles record with senior Karie Schlukebir. The duo has played together for the last three seasons and has compiled a 73-25 record. Tran and Schlukebir ranked No. 1 in the region at the end of last season. The two entered this season with a pre-season ranking of No. 13, but Tran said they hope to end at No. 1 again.\nTran, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., is currently tied for fourth with former IU player Danielle Paradine with 24 career Big Ten doubles wins and is tied for sixth with former IU player Jessica Anderson with 89 overall career doubles wins. \nSchlukebir, who is considered a leader by her teammates, had to sit out for a good part of the season due to cancer treatments. During this time,Tran had to step up to help her team. \n"Linda does a good job leading our team whenever we don't have Karie," junior Martina Grimm said.\nTran was named the Big Ten Player-of-the-Week earlier this season for leading her team to victories against Bowling Green and Cincinnati when the Hoosiers were suffering from injuries. \n"Linda is a great influence to our team," freshman Sarah Batty said. "She inspires everyone to do better, and carries a great leadership role to the team."\nWith only matches against Illinois and Purdue and championships left, Tran said she is already looking ahead to next season. \n"I want to continue making improvements in my game for the coming year," Tran said. "Shot selection and ball control are the two things that will either win you the point or cost you the point. I have slowly been able to make some improvements there, but there is still a lot of room for improvement." \nThe Hoosiers finish their last two regular matches of the season this Saturday at Illinois and Sunday at Purdue. Both matches are set to begin at 10 a.m.