2nd place at stake against Michigan

The Hoosiers are three teams, two victories, one weekend and a little bit of help away from a second-place finish in the conference.\nThis weekend will be pivotal for No. 40 IU as the Hoosiers meet at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts to take on No. 41 Michigan at 4 p.m. Friday and Michigan State at 10 a.m. Sunday.\nTwo victories will guarantee a third place and will make second place a definite possibility.\n"Michigan is going to be the big one because it really can affect our seeding, and it can really affect their seeding," said IU coach Lin Loring. "We will be favored against Michigan State though."\nThree other teams are vying with the Hoosiers (12-10, 6-2 Big Ten) in the fight for second place -- the Wolverines (5-3 Big Ten), Iowa (6-2) and Illinois (5-3).\n"Depending on what we do this weekend, and what other teams do, we could be anywhere from two to five," Loring said.\nThe scenarios are numerous, and IU, at 6-2 in the conference, is sitting more in the passenger seat.\nThe Hawkeyes hold the reigns with two-weekend wins against Purdue and Illinois guaranteeing them second place. They also hold the tie-breaker with IU because of last weekend's 7-0 blanking in Iowa City.\nTwo Hoosier wins would guarantee a third, but other third-place scenarios exist.\nIU holds the Illinois tie-breaker with its win earlier in the season, and the tie-breaker with Michigan will be decided Sunday.\n"There really is no difference between two and three," Loring said. "You want to try to be the two or three seed, so you're on the other half of the draw from Northwestern."\nNorthwestern (9-0) sits atop the Big Ten, but Loring has known for a while that a similar scenario would be taking place, saying all season that second place would be a fight between IU and potentially five other teams.\n"I think there is some pressure for all of us," said freshman Brianna Williams. "It's just nice to get to play at home -- I think it's exhausting for us to go on the road."\nDespite last weekend's 7-0 blanking, IU might have a few good things going for the team.\nFor starters, there are now two nationally-ranked Hoosiers.\nJunior Sarah Batty recently received, for the first time in her three-year career, some share of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national spotlight. The ITA ranked her at No. 120 this week and placed senior Dora Vastag at No. 122.\nBatty stepped into the spotlight by defeating three ranked opponents this season, her last being Notre Dame's No. 90 Brook Buck.\nAlso, in coach Loring's 28 years of IU glory, he has never suffered a loss to the Spartans.\nBut all conference implications aside, all eyes might be fixed upon the No. 5 spot Sunday, as senior Dominika Walterova will play her last collegiate match in Bloomington.\nThe Zlin, Czech Republic, native came to Bloomington four years ago and has been active on IU's roster for three of those years -- last year she struggled heavily with staying healthy to see much action.\nShe has amassed 55 doubles wins and 38 singles victories in her career.\n"I can't believe it's my last match," Walterova said. "I'm just kind of sad."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andy \nRomey at aromey@indiana.edu