Hoosiers lose in Big Ten tourney semis

Six days after the IU women’s tennis team defeated Michigan for one of its biggest wins of the season, the Wolverines got their revenge with a 4-2 victory to eliminate the Hoosiers from the Big Ten tournament.\nAs a result of the first meeting between the schools, IU finished second in the Big Ten standings and earned a first round bye in the Big Ten championships. Michigan fell to the No. 3 seed. \nThe Hoosiers defeated the tournament’s host, Minnesota, 4-2 on Friday in the quarterfinals. After winning the doubles point, senior Cecile Perton, sophomore Sigrid Fischer and freshman Lindsey Stuckey accumulated three singles points to clinch the match. \nThough he said his team competed well overall, IU coach Lin Loring said the Hoosiers would need a great effort in Saturday’s semifinals.\n“We knew Michigan didn’t give us their best shot a week ago,” he said. “We knew it was going to be tough to beat them twice.”\nIU put up little resistance in doubles. Of the two matches completed, the Hoosiers were beaten in 16 of 21 games. The team rebounded in singles to keep the match competitive. But on Saturday the Hoosiers were unable to win the third sets like they had all through the regular season.\n“All the matches were close,” Loring said. “Even the ones we lost were very close.”\nThough IU won’t receive the automatic NCAA tournament bid awarded to the tournament’s champion, the season isn’t over for the Hoosiers. With a NCAA berth all but assured, the only opportunity IU lost in Saturday’s defeat was another shot at No. 5 Northwestern.\n“We would have liked to play them again,” Loring said. “But we’re still going to be a No. 2 seed in an NCAA regional, and we still finished second in the conference.”\nThe team’s strong play this season earned Loring his fourth Big Ten Coach of the Year award. With a team projected to finish in the middle of the conference standings, Loring guided the Hoosiers to a 20-6 overall record with a 9-1 mark in the Big Ten.\nBut Loring said much of the credit should go to his players.\n“(The award) really showed that the team overachieved this year,” he said. “It was just a total team effort. ... Everybody was the hero at some point this season.”