Hot IU wants to continue strong showings

The IU women's tennis team continues its fall season this weekend as they hold the IU Fall Invitational at the IU Tennis Center. Starting Friday, four flights of eight players each will compete for singles titles, while 16 teams will battle in the doubles bracket. The tournament will continue through Sunday, when the singles champions for each bracket will be determined. \nThe Hoosiers will be tested by four other schools, as Ball State University, Western Michigan University, Xavier University and the University of Toledo come to Bloomington to challenge last season's Big Ten regular season champions.\nThe Hoosiers have gotten off to a hot start in the fall season with strong showings in their first two tournaments. One of the standouts from this season's early action has been sophomore Kara Zeder, who claimed first place in her singles flight earlier this month at the Hoosier Classic. With two tournaments now under her belt, Zeder holds a 7-0 singles record. After her strong showing, she said she knows there is still work to be done this fall to prepare for the rest of the campaign.\n"I want to keep on winning," Zeder said. "Hopefully this weekend will show me what I need to work on so I can be fully prepared for the spring season."\nThe IU Fall Invitational won't be the only contest in which the Hoosiers will compete in this weekend. Senior Dora Vastag, IU's No. 1 singles player, and sophomore Laura McGaffigan will play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regionals in Minneapolis.\nRanked No. 37 by the ITA in singles, Vastag finds herself in a field of 14 of the nation's top 120 singles players and will team with McGaffigan to take on nine of the nation's top 60 doubles teams. The schools sending participants to the ITA Regionals include the host school, Minnesota, as well as Purdue, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and nearly 25 other Division I programs.\n"I am hoping to play my best tennis this weekend," Vastag said. "By focusing on my own game, the results should fall into place on their own."\nMcGaffigan has been impressive in her own right this fall as she holds a 7-1 record in doubles action. The ITA Midwest Regionals begins Friday with Vastag and McGaffigan competing together in a round with 63 other doubles teams. The tournament will continue until Tuesday.\nFor the 28th straight season, IU coach Lin Loring leads the Hoosiers through the fall tournament season. While the fall schedule doesn't affect the spring's Big Ten record, Loring knows the importance the fall season holds.\n"We need to work really hard and show tremendous improvement over the course of the fall if we are going to be competitive during the dual match season in the spring," Loring said.\nHopes are high among Loring and his players. A successful upcoming weekend will be one of the first steps to leading the Hoosiers back to the top of the Big Ten this spring.\n"I think we have a talented team this year," Vastag said. "Hopefully our hard work will translate into some great results in the spring."\n-- Contact staff writer Nick \nCaponigro at ncaponig@indiana.edu