IU to compete in Western Michigan Duals this weekend

In its last tournament of the fall season, the IU women’s tennis team will compete at the Western Michigan Duals this weekend. \nIU coach Lin Loring said other teams competing in the tournament, including Western Michigan, Wichita State, Yale and Depaul, have high-ranked players that should make the top brackets interesting to watch. He also said IU’s depth will help the team in the lower brackets. As in previous tournaments, Loring said the focus will be on doubles pairings.\n“We’d like to see a little more consistency in doubles and just more improvement in singles since the last tournament,” Loring said. “We’re not focused on wins and losses.” \nJunior Alba Berdala echoed Loring’s thoughts, agreeing that the team’s doubles game is a weak area.\n“To play against these players shows what you have to do to improve,” Berdala said. “I’m really looking forward to it.” \nJunior Stephanie Heller agreed.\n“We’re all excited, and we’re all pumped about this tournament,” she said “We enjoy the competition.” \nBecause this is the last tournament of the season, the opportunity to not only showcase their talent but also work on their weaknesses will be a point of emphasis for the Hoosiers.\n“We need to work as much as we can,” Berdala said. “The four new freshmen do not have a lot of experience playing doubles so we have to help them, but we also have to get used to each other. It’s a matter of time. The more we play together, the better we’ll get.”\nThis last tournament will be even more crucial for the coaches and players because the NCAA limits the amount of time coaches can spend with their players during the months of November and December. For three weeks after the end of this tournament, coaches are only allowed to spend eight hours with each player, two playing tennis and six conditioning. \n“It hurts us in the ability to develop the players,” Loring said. “They can practice (tennis) all they want, but we only get that eight hours.”\nBerdala said the time off will allow the team to bond and grow.\n“We feel we would like to practice, but at the same time we will try to help each other as team,” Berdala said. “I will try to help the freshmen, and I hope we will help each other. The team is going to get more together and bond. It will also show who is serious about (competing).”