In a week filled with sickness and injuries, IU at one point had just three players able to practice.
Head coach Ramiro Azcui said illnesses and minor injuries plagued his athletes throughout the week, but the Hoosiers squared off against Washington State and Cincinnati on Sunday and were able to pull off a split.
Early Sunday morning IU was faced with the challenge of playing an unfamiliar opponent in Washington State and suffered a 4-0 loss. After the match Azcui said he felt his team was unprepared for what it faced.
“We had never seen them hit a tennis ball before,” Azcui said of the Cougars. “I don’t think we were ready for what they brought to the table.”
After the loss to Washington State the next match brought an opponent in Cincinnati that IU had a bit more knowledge of.
Unlike the match against Washington State, IU got the doubles point to gain a 1-0 advantage, and from there it was smooth sailing for the Hoosiers. They went on to secure a 5-1 victory over the Bearcats.
Sophomore Caitlin Bernard made quick work at the No. 3 singles position. She scored a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Cincinnati’s Antonella Bramato.
“I started really well,” Bernard said. “I had high energy, stepped into the ball, stayed in the rallies and stayed positive.”
Azcui said his team is more used to Cincinnati and the Bearcats’ style of play because his squad has faced the Bearcats at several fall tournaments in recent years. He said he felt IU was far more ready for the challenge presented by Cincinnati than WSU and added that he liked the way his team was able to rebound despite losing in the morning.
Azcui changed his lineup a tad against Cincinnati by putting sophomore Natalie Whalen into doubles for the first time this year to play with Bernard, and it worked to the Hoosiers’ advantage.
“The advantage of playing a double header is you get the opportunity to play a lot of players,” Azcui said. “But at the same time, you get tired and if you’re injured that kind of hurts you a little bit more. We knew this second match was going to be important so we put Natalie in there to get a little boost to pull this thing through.”
The Hoosiers improved to 3-1 on the season and will look to get healthy this week before facing Miami (Ohio) at 11 a.m. next Saturday.
