IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said it was a weekend of missed opportunities after the Hoosiers’ losses to Michigan State and No. 10 Michigan this weekend.
IU lost 4-0 to Michigan, but sophomores Madison Appel and Caitlin Bernard and freshman Pauline Jahren were all in position to win their singles matches if the matches hadn’t been cut off.
It was the same story for the No. 41-ranked doubles team of Appel and senior Kim Schmider, which was up 5-4 against the No. 2-ranked doubles team of Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian. Because Michigan already clinched the doubles point, however, that match went unfinished.
“I was a little upset when our match got cut off,” Appel said. “We just came out a little slow in doubles but then started to pick it up and play our game. We knew how good Michigan was and how high their rankings were, so we knew it was going to be a tough match and it was.”
The following day against Michigan State, the doubles matches were crucial.
No. 2 and 3 doubles for the Hoosiers were knotted at five games a piece and Appel and Schmider were down 5-4 with the scoring being 40-40 all at the same time.
Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, the Spartans were able to pick up victories at the No. 1 and 2 doubles spots to go up in the match 1-0. From there, MSU went on to win the match 5-2.
“I think if we would’ve won the doubles point, it would’ve been a much different match,” Azcui said. “I think the momentum really shifted their way after that, and even though we played really well in the singles, that doubles point just really took a lot out of us, and we weren’t able to recover from it.”
Azcui said there was a period of time when the team wasn’t playing well in doubles, but right now, he likes the way the team is starting to play. He added that it has become a critical part of their game, and they are going to need to keep working on it.
Despite dropping both of these matches, the team remained positive.
“We all competed really well,” Appel said. “We came out the best we could but just got a little unlucky. If our best is losing and we are working really hard, then that’s OK. It’s just part of the sport.”
Azcui said the message to his team is that they can compete with anyone, and the competitiveness they played with against the No. 10 team in the country showed that.
The Hoosiers are now 10-8 on the season and 1-3 in Big Ten play. The team will be back in action this Saturday when they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on Purdue.
