3 Hoosiers reach final in Classic this weekend

For the second straight year, three Hoosiers on the women's tennis team have reached the finals of the top three brackets in the Hoosier Classic.\nThis year, senior Sarah Batty and junior Laura McGaffigan were able to cash in victories in the top two brackets against their Notre Dame opponents.\nWith long baseline rallies, No. 82 Batty frustrated No. 54 Brook Buck from the very beginning as she cruised 6-2, 6-2 in the finals of the Flight A bracket.\n"I played pretty good all the way through the match and never let her get into it," Batty said.\nIn a harder fought match, McGaffigan prevailed over Katie Potts 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (6) to take the Flight B title.\nThe third Hoosier in a singles final was sophomore Brianna Williams, who defeated Notre Dame's Lauren Connelly, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (6) and beat Murray State's Rachel Lask to advance to the Flight C finals, where she faced Kelcy Tefft, also from Notre Dame. During a difficult match, Tefft returned nearly everything to edge out Williams, 6-2, 6-2.\nIn what might have proved to be the fan favorite match of the tournament, freshman Alba Berdala defeated Kansas State's No. 95 Tamar Kvaratskhelia. After appearing frustrated and losing the first set 2-6 -- at times muttering to herself in her native Spanish -- Berdala bounced back strongly taking the second set 6-4. Then, in a dramatic back-and-forth tiebreaker, Berdala won 14-12, to place third in the Flight B bracket. \nFreshmen Sigrid Fischer and Stephanie Heller, junior Cecile Perton and No. 90 senior Dora Vastag added to Hoosier singles victories.\n"It was a really solid start to the season," Vastag said. "We proved that we're a great team and should do well this season."\nIn doubles competition, Berdala and Perton fared well defeating Kansas's Lauren Hommell and Edina Horvath 8-4, as well as Louisiana State's Tiffany Tucker and Lauren Seaman 8-3 to reach the semifinals before falling to Notre Dame's Buck and Tefft.\nIn the finals, Batty and McGaffigan fell short to Buck and Tefft 9-7 in a match that saw both teams' serve broken multiple times.\n"We confirmed a lot of things about our team this weekend," IU head coach Lin Loring said. "Overall, I thought this weekend was a huge success"