Hoosiers hope for 31 straight vs. Spartans

If the IU women’s tennis team leaves East Lansing, Mich., victorious Sunday, its win streak against Michigan State will climb to 30 years.\nAnd IU coach Lin Loring is in his 30th season at IU. \nThe winningest women’s tennis coach in NCAA history has tallied more than 300 conference victories, two National Coach of the Year awards and a national championship during his tenure at IU, but there is something the coach hasn’t done.\n“I’ve never lost to Michigan State,” Loring said. “That whole time, I think they’ve always been at the bottom half of the conference. We’ve always been at the top half. I’m not sure there’s any startling answer to (why we’ve never lost to them). I think we’ve done a good job over the years of winning matches we’re supposed to win.”\nLoring took over as the Hoosiers’ coach in 1977. The previous season, IU suffered an 8-1 loss to Michigan State, which was the only time in the history of IU women’s tennis that the Hoosiers failed to defeat the Spartans. \nBut sophomore Alba Berdala said the threat of being the first IU squad in 30 years to lose to Michigan State doesn’t add any pressure.\n“It’s not something we have to be scared of,” she said. “If we play our game, we know that we should win. ... They are the ones who want to prove something.”\nThe Hoosiers proved something themselves last weekend, when they boosted their record to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in conference after a pair of road wins against Iowa and Minnesota. \nWhile still recovering from a spring-break stomach virus that affected the entire roster, the situation worsened for the Hoosiers when flight delays significantly reduced their sleep before both matches. \nIU defeated Iowa 5-2. However, sophomore Sigrid Fischer was out of the lineup against Minnesota and her teammates were forced to battle for a 4-3 win.