IU to face off against Boilermakers, Illini

When it comes to women's tennis, the recent IU-Purdue rivalry has been about as one-sided as a fight between a polar bear and a pussycat -- and at 35-2 all-time over their rivals, IU coach Lin Loring isn't leading the pussycat.\nFriday afternoon, the No. 35 Hoosiers will look to improve their conference record to 2-0 against the visiting Boilermakers, who come into the contest ranked No. 33. IU will also face Illinois on Sunday.\nBesides success against IU's in-state rival, Loring, the all-time winningest coach in women's tennis, stands three wins shy of his 300th Big Ten win, an unprecedented accomplishment in the sport.\nSpeaking of the looming milestone, Loring brushes the accolades aside.\n"I guess it will be significant at the time," he said. "It's just a sign you've been successful a long, long time."\nDespite his career success against Purdue, Loring isn't taking the Boilermakers lightly.\n"Purdue has been playing good doubles," he said. "They have a couple girls that hit the ball pretty hard, so we've been preparing for that."\nLoring said he thinks the doubles point will be a huge factor in who wins the match, a factor that plays to IU's strengths. As in past seasons, doubles is a strong suit for the Hoosiers. The team has won 38 of 46 dual doubles matches this season.\nAgainst Illinois, the Hoosiers expect an attack similar to Purdue's.\n"They're a lot like Purdue in that they are talented at the top and taper off at the bottom. We're going to have to be ready for the top of their lineup," Loring said.\nNo. 1 singles player Sarah Batty expects both matches to be close.\n"They're two very important Big Ten matches," she said. "I'm pretty confident we will do well."\nBatty is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week for her performance against the University of Louisville last Sunday. Batty claimed her 10th singles win of the year against Louisville's Maria Klokotzky, 6-3, 6-0, and teamed up with junior Laura McGaffigan for the pair's 12th doubles win. This marks the second time this year Batty has earned conference honors.\nLast time out, the Hoosiers (11-4, 1-0) defeated Louisville 5-2. It was their first match in two weeks.\nNo. 3 singles player Brianna Williams, who earned her ninth win of the season against the Cardinals, said the match was a good post-spring break start.\nWhile the outcome of the match was in its favor, the team conceded that the long layoff affected its play.\n"We were a little rusty," Loring said. "We played well in spots, but you could tell we hadn't played a match in two weeks."\nThis weekend, the Hoosiers will try to recapture their early season form.\n"I want to see us get back to the level we were playing at right before spring break," Loring said.