IU hosts No. 10 Tennessee

Coming off two impressive victories over Western Michigan and Miami of Ohio, the Hoosiers couldn't have asked for a much better start to their spring season. IU opened up its schedule with a 6-1 victory over the Broncos, which was closer than the score indicates, and a 7-0 blowout of the Redhawks.\nBut their toughest test to date is sure to focus the Hoosiers, as they play host to No. 10 Tennessee Saturday at the IU Tennis Center.\nThe Vols are just the first of 15 ranked opponents the Hoosiers will face this season, most of which come on the road. That makes this weekend's match, although a non-Big Ten contest, all the more important.\nBut when compared to the reputation of the visiting Vols, the IU squad matches its Southeastern Conference foe with some rankings of its own.\nIn the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, five IU players were among those recognized. Seniors Martina Grimm, Karie Schlukebir and Linda Tran, junior Dora Vastag and sophomore Sarah Batty all begin the spring season ranked as some of the best in the nation.\nLeading off for the Hoosiers this weekend is transfer sensation Vastag, as she steps in as the Hoosiers' No. 1 singles player. At this time last year, the Okemos, Mich., native was suiting up in green as a Michigan State Spartan. But now she brings to Bloomington some tremendous competitive experience, finishing a singles semifinalist in the 2003 ITA Summer National Championships after sitting out the previous spring with a knee injury.\n"The coaching (at IU) I think is the best in the Big Ten," Vastag said. "The program has such a good reputation, and since I already knew some of the girls on the team, it has been easy to fit right in."\nLast weekend, the No. 48 ranked Vastag fell to No. 88 Frederika Girsang of Western Michigan, 6-1, 6-3 before securing a 6-0, 6-1 win over Katrina Lomidze of Miami (OH). Her overall record for the 2003-2004 campaign moves to 6-3 as she prepares to take on Tennessee's top player.\n"This weekend will be a good chance for us to measure ourselves against one of the top teams in the country," Vastag said. "As long as we all work hard to keep getting better and better, we should have a good shot at doing well this spring."\nAnother key singles match this weekend features last year's No. 1 singles player, Tran. Ranked No. 82 in singles after going 6-5 during the fall, Tran opened the spring by knocking off Western Michigan's Reedhina Parekh, 6-3, 6-3 to improve her overall singles record to 7-5.\nTran will also see doubles action this weekend, as she teams with fellow senior, Schlukebir. The duo enters the weekend with a No. 24 ranking among the doubles tandems in the nation. After starting out the spring schedule with a 8-1 loss to a Western Michigan duo, Schlukebir and Tran responded, downing Miami's Lomidze and Jirouskova, 8-4.\nIU coach Lin Loring said he was pleased with the play of his seniors and knows their leadership will be vital to the team's success this season.\n"I couldn't have asked for a better group of seniors," he said. "Those girls have been great about working hard and being team leaders. They are certainly a big reason why we had a good fall season and are off in the right direction this spring."\nCoach Loring's third senior, Grimm, enters the weekend's competition tied for No. 50 as a doubles player, with teammate Batty. The tandem posted a record of 5-1 during the fall before Grimm and Batty added wins to their records during last weekend's play. Grimm and Vastag teamed up to beat a Western Michigan duo 8-5 and a Miami team 8-3. Batty, playing alongside freshman Laura McGaffigan, also won their matches 8-5 and 8-3.\nThese doubles teams will have their work cut out for them as they face a pair of Tennessee women that are hot off stunning upsets. At the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas, the Vols duo of Sabita Maharaj and Ashley Robards advanced to the finals after upsetting both the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds.\nHowever, Tran said the team was not intimidated by Tennessee's rankings and looked forward to playing top competition.\n"During the fall season, everyone seemed to keep getting better," she said. "It's carried over to this spring, and we're really excited about this weekend and this spring."\nThe action starts at 10 a.m. at the IU Tennis Center.\n-- Contact staff writer Jeff Fuldauer at jfuldaue@indiana.edu.