Hoosier women's tennis team looks to stay undefeated

If the IU women's tennis team is going to improve to 8-0 this Sunday, the players will have to keep their focus.\nPlaying at home for the second consecutive weekend, the Hoosiers will take on the Marquette Golden Eagles at 9:30 a.m. before their 3 p.m. meeting with Ball State. \nCoach Lin Loring said both matches will be difficult, but if IU play wells, the team will remain undefeated. \nLast Saturday brought another pair of opponents -- one Big East school and one in-state school -- to Bloomington when DePaul and Butler both fell to the Hoosiers. DePaul was the tougher of the two opponents, some Hoosier players said, battling IU throughout the match before losing 5-2.\nJunior Brianna Williams said she expects Marquette to be an opponent comparable to DePaul. \n"I think it will be another good match," Williams said.\nWilliams added that Marquette is winless against IU during her three years on the team, including an 0-7 loss to the Hoosiers a year ago. With only one win thus far, Marquette has struggled through a stretch of difficult matches to start the season, but Loring said his players should still expect to be tested Sunday.\n"This is the best team Marquette's had in a while," he said. "They had a lot of injuries last year. We're expecting a much better match."\nAs for Ball State, Loring said he expects more from the Cardinals than what he saw from Butler during IU's 7-0 sweep of the Bulldogs on Saturday.\n"Ball State's much better than Butler," he said. "They're usually one of the best teams in the Mid-American Conference. They normally give us a couple good matches."\nLoring said he considers both of this weekend's matches to be in the Hoosiers' control, meaning the Hoosiers will win if they play well. At this point in the season, Loring said, the players are anxious to get out and show what they can do. The difference between wins and losses, however, will hinge on IU's ability to remain focused and execute.\nOn the court, senior team captains Cecile Perton and Laura McGaffigan bear much of the responsibility of keeping the players sharp. McGaffigan said her main concern as a captain is fostering a positive attitude among her teammates, but she said she wants them to be efficient in their play as well. \nEven in close matches, McGaffigan said, she works to keep her teammates engaged by stressing the fundamentals the team focuses on during practice. As one of the team's three upperclassmen, Williams said she has learned to consistently play her best against every opponent. But doing this in matches in which IU is favored to win is something that develops over time, she said.\n"You don't have the adrenaline like you do with the harder matches," she said, "but it just comes with practice"