Not often does an entire tennis roster get used in matches that hold important implications for the season.
With ten players on his roster, IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said he expects to utilize all his players in the team's first dual match of the season this weekend.
Six of the ten players are returning from last season and have gotten a taste of action within the Big Ten. The four newcomers consist of three freshmen and one transfer senior.
After competing in four tournaments in the fall and putting on an impressive performance at the IU Winter Invitational last weekend, Azcui has trust in his players to be productive as the team begins dual match play.
As part of the Crimson invite, the ten players will see Western Michigan and Butler as its first dual match competition of the year.
Aside from his ten players, Azcui will see a familiar face on the Broncos’ squad. Azcui’s daughter, Denise, is a junior on Western Michigan’s tennis team.
This will be Azcui’s third time coaching against his daughter. Azcui’s first dual tennis match as head coach of the IU program featured a match-up against his daughter on Jan. 21, 2017, which the Hoosiers won 7-0. Western Michigan was also in Bloomington this past fall for the Hoosier Classic.
“It’s always fun when you talk about it, but it’s tough for both of us when it actually happens,” Azcui said. “It’s an emotional time.”
Western Michigan will come to Bloomington this weekend after coming off its first win of the season Saturday against Oakland, 5-2.
The last time IU faced Western Michigan was in September, when the Hoosiers went 2-2 against the Broncos in singles matches and 2-0 in doubles matches.
IU junior Madison Appel defeated junior Melina Lyubomirova in two sets, 6-2, 6-3, and junior Natalie Whalen took down senior Barbare Eristavi in two sets, 7-5, 6-4.
In doubles play, the duo of senior Xiwei Cai and sophomore Caitlin Bernard beat Western Michigan 8-6, and the other duo of sophomores Emma Love and Pauline Jahren won 6-4.
Unlike Western Michigan, Butler comes to Bloomington looking to bounce back from a 7-0 loss to Cincinnati to put them at 0-2 on the young season. Last January, the Hoosiers dominated the Bulldogs 7-0.
The Hoosiers look to mirror that start with a strong performance up and down the lineup this weekend.
First serve against Western Michigan will be at 10 a.m. After the match ends, IU will have a few hours to recover before taking on Butler at 5:30 p.m. Both matches will take place inside the IU Tennis Center.
