Classic brings tough women's tennis teams to Bloomington

The IU women’s tennis team will stay a little closer to home this weekend as they host the Hoosier Classic starting Friday at the IU Tennis Center.

The team will host Kansas State, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Indiana State and conference rivals Ohio State and Purdue.

“It will be really good competition,” said IU coach Lin Loring. “Vandy is always in the top 15 and Ohio State will be in the top four in the Big Ten. The teams will be very strong.”

The Hoosier Classic will feature a more structured format than other tournaments the Hoosiers have played in this season. In the Georgia Invitational in mid-September, the team did not know what teams and players they would be facing until immediately before each match.

This time, the singles matches have already been assigned, and the doubles matches will be held in a round-robin event.

The Hoosiers are still playing around with doubles combinations to see who pairs up best.

“We are focusing more on doubles and experimenting with doubles teams,” junior Lindsey Stuckey said. “It is an opportunity to get more match play and prepare for the season.”

The team has been focusing on conditioning and practicing individual technique after seeing what they needed to work on after the Georgia Invitational.

“Coach (Loring) makes us focus for a longer time,” said senior Sigrid Fischer. “We are getting into the rhythm of the matches, and our drills are more specified to what we are trying to do.”

The tournament will begin at 10 a.m. each day Friday through Sunday. The tournament is open to the general public and admission is free.

Fischer said the team enjoys playing at home because of the extra support they get.
“We always love being at home,” she said. “We tell all our friends to come out and cheer, because it’s great mental support.”