Hoosiers look for return to the win column

After winning its first eight matches of the season, the IU women's tennis team now looks to end its two-match losing streak at home this weekend against a pair of undefeated teams, Wake Forest (4-0) and Kentucky (6-0). \nIU went to Tobacco Road last weekend with a perfect record and a No. 38 national ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The Hoosiers moved up a spot in the rankings this week, but after losses against two highly-ranked opponents, Duke and North Carolina, the Hoosiers will have to end their skid against two more ranked opponents.\nIn terms of the polls, the Hoosiers will be underdogs when they host No. 20 Wake Forest and No. 21 Kentucky. But the team is looking for its home court to be the equalizer. \n"We've always had really good matches against Wake and Kentucky," junior Brianna Williams said. "I definitely think being at home will give us an advantage." \nThe last time IU played both Wake Forest and Kentucky was 2005, when the Hoosiers beat the Demon Deacons at home 6-1 before losing to then-No. 9 Kentucky 6-1. A year ago, Wake Forest beat coach Lin Loring's Hoosiers 5-2 in Winston-Salem, N.C. \nThis time around, Loring said he expects Wake Forest to be the more difficult of his team's two weekend opponents, adding that he considered the Demon Deacons to be better than Duke. Loring said that he thought last weekend's opponents brought out his team's best performance, and he wants an encore this weekend. \n"We just have to keep playing at a high level no matter who we're playing," he said. \nThough the overall match score from last week's matches showed the Hoosiers lost, decisively, sophomore Alba Berdala said the team was still competitive.\n"We lost, but we still had good matches," she said. "I think it increased our confidence because we know we can do well against good teams." \nIU begins play against Wake Forest at 10 a.m. on Saturday and against Kentucky at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be held at the IU Varsity Tennis Center.