Women: Batty leads Hoosiers in regional tourney

The IU women's tennis team had a solid showing at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regional, led by senior captain Sarah Batty who advanced to the final 16. Despite the individual accomplishments, IU head coach Lin Loring said it was hard to evaluate her team's play.\n"It's always hard to evaluate how you did because the courts are faster than anything we see the rest of the year," Loring said. "We just don't have any huge hitters."\nThe East Lansing, Mich., tournament saw several Hoosiers contribute. Leading the way was the No. 82-ranked Batty, who advanced to the final 16 of the main singles draw. In the first round she defeated Toledo's Myriam Cueya, 6-0, 6-2. In the second round she beat Northwestern's Nazlie Ghazal, 6-2, 7-6(2) but then eventually lost to Iowa's Megan Racette, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.\n"I was pretty happy with the results," Batty said. "But we could have definitely done a lot better."\nFreshman Sigrid Fischer made her way through the qualifying singles bracket into the top eight and earned a place in the main draw, where she lost in the first round. Also in the main singles draw was senior Dora Vastag, ranked No. 90, junior Cecile Perton and sophomore Brianna Williams -- all of who had first-round victories.\nThe strong doubles play of Batty and junior Laura McGaffigan continued in the doubles bracket. The duo advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Butler and Ohio State's teams along the way. The pair eventually fell to Notre Dame's Lauren Connelly and Christine Stastny, 8-5, a team they had beat earlier in the season.\n"Our biggest challenge is in doubles," Batty said. "Just coming together and working as a team is hard."\nAlso contributing for IU doubles were Vastag and Williams, who also made a run to the final 16. They defeated Minnesota 8-0 before losing to Illinois' team 8-6. In addition, the combination of Fischer and fellow freshman Marah Calvo beat Purdue's Brittany Minna and Anna Dzeva, 8-6.\nThe Hoosiers will head to the Western Michigan Duals Nov. 4.