For the first time this season, IU has its entire lineup fully healthy for Saturday’s dual match against West Virginia and Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said this is the first week his team has had everybody able to participate in practice, which allowed his squad to be completely ready for this weekend.
The Hoosiers come into the matches at 7-5 on the season and right off two 7-0 victories last weekend against DePaul and IUPUI. Azcui said he hopes the victories will turn into momentum for his team.
“We had a great win against DePaul last weekend and are just looking to play as good as we can this weekend to carry it,” Azcui said.
Senior Kim Schmider is returning to her regular spots at position one doubles and position four singles after being bumped back to position three doubles and position six singles in the previous match due to sickness. Schmider said she thinks the team has the potential to win these two matches but will need to bring energy to do so.
The Hoosiers don’t know much about either of the two teams they are going up against, but Azcui said that doesn’t affect their preparation.
“We’ve been focusing more on ourselves than our opponents,” Azcui said. “We want to look at what we can do better to make sure we can play at our own level rather than play at our opponents’ level.”
These are the final two matches before the Big Ten season begins next weekend on the road at Iowa, and Schmider said with conference play looming, it’s hard to ignore.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about but it’s more important that we focus on these two matches,” Schmider said. “We don’t want to get distracted and are just looking to bring what we’ve been working on in practice into these matches.”
Azcui said he is focused on this weekend and the value that two more wins can provide to his team’s confidence going into Big Ten play.
“You always want to worry about the matches that are in front of you,” Azcui said. “But, I’ve been telling my team all season that certain things are going to get us ready for the Big Ten. So, they know in the back of their heads that it’s there, but we don’t want to look ahead too much.”
The Hoosiers kick off their dual match 11 a.m. Saturday against West Virginia and play Southern Illinois Carbondale later in the day at 4 p.m.
