Hoosiers hold their own in Georgia Invitational

The No. 45-ranked IU women’s tennis team posted a 13-12 record in singles and doubles play last weekend at the Georgia Invitational against Kansas State, Troy and No. 15 Georgia.

The Bulldogs handed IU 11 of its losses — seven in singles play and four in doubles. Georgia boasted five of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top-100 singles players and two of the top-40 doubles tandems.

One of Georgia’s top players, junior Chelsey Gullickson, is the defending NCAA singles champion but was not ranked because she contemplated turning pro after last season and didn’t play any fall matches.

IU sophomore Leslie Hureau, ranked No. 91, lost to Gullickson 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 and “was literally two points from winning the match,” according to IU coach Lin Loring.

Hureau, who was undefeated in the fall, said the match against Gullickson will give her confidence going into the season.

“Right after the match, I was just really disappointed because I missed a couple of opportunities in the third set,” Hureau said. “But when I thought about it later, I was pretty happy. I wasn’t really sure about my tennis level, so it will help me know that I can go against anybody.”

Loring said it was important to get some matches in before dual matches begin this weekend against Western Michigan, Xavier and Ball State. He pointed to the team’s 5-1 record in three-set matches as a sign that his squad competed well.

“We really got exactly what we wanted out of this tournament,” Loring said. “We got a lot of tennis in. We got some wins, we got some losses, which is really what we wanted. You learn a lot more about yourself when you lose, but they also got some confidence from the wins.”