Hoosiers top Buckeyes late in close match

The No. 30 IU women's tennis team escaped from Columbus, Ohio, with a 4-3 victory over No. 68 Ohio State Sunday to remain tied for second place in the Big Ten standings.\nThe Hoosiers (15-5, 5-1) won with doubles and depth in their first outdoor match of the spring season. Despite losing the top three singles matches, IU claimed its sixth victory over a ranked opponent.\nIU coach Lin Loring said his team played average in the elements against a Buckeye team that has played matches outdoors on several occasions this season.\n"We did OK -- not great," Loring said. "Normally, a team can't win if they lose at the one, two and three singles positions, so I was pleased we could win at the bottom."\nWins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles allowed the Hoosiers to open the match with a 1-0 advantage for the 16th time this season. The No. 57-ranked duo of senior Sarah Batty and junior Laura McGaffigan bested Ohio State's Julie Blackmore and Caitlin O'Keefe at the No.1 spot, 8-3. The win improved their record to a team-best 16-4. At No. 2 doubles, freshman Sigrid Fischer and sophomore Brianna Williams won their 14th match of the season over the Buckeyes' Sonia Ruzimovsky and Angela \nDiPastina, 8-3.\nIn singles, a pair of freshmen stepped up for the Hoosiers in Alba Berdala and Fischer.\nBerdala won the decisive point for the Hoosiers at No. 5 singles, winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 over OSU's Kristin Messmer.\n"Alba hasn't won in the last few matches, so it was good to see her step up today," Loring said.\nFischer, who leads the team with 16 singles victories, defeated OSU's Ciara Finucane in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. In her first season of collegiate tennis, Fischer has become the closest thing the Hoosiers have to a sure point.\n"Sigrid has been great in her first year," Batty said. "Her game is improving and will hopefully continue to improve."\nBig Ten competition and having teammates are two things Fischer has adjusted to since coming to IU.\n"It's getting more intense," Fischer said of Big Ten play. "But we all cheer each other on, which is totally different from home where it was just me. I like that I'm not alone anymore."\nJunior Cecile Perton defeated the Buckeyes' Angela DiPastina 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles to improve her record to 13-6.\nBatty, who fell at No. 1 singles 6-4, 6-1, said she hopes the match against the Buckeyes will help prepare the team for playing outdoors this weekend against Minnesota and Iowa. The matches will be the final home matches of the season for the Hoosiers and Batty's final home matches as a Hoosier.\n"I'm looking forward to next week's matches -- my last home matches," she said. "I'm trying not to think about it like that"