Women's tennis season off to promising start

The IU women’s tennis team started its season with a strong overall performance in the IU Winter Invitational this weekend. 

After the third and final day of the tournament, the Hoosiers finished with a record of 28-9 in singles and doubles competition.

IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said he was pleased with his players’ performances in both singles and doubles play. 

"After a two-month tournament drought, the players did a great job of stepping up and getting back into a competitive mode," Azcui said.

The freshmen saw a large amount of court time during the tournament, competing in eleven singles and doubles matches combined.

Freshmen Andjelija Bozovic and Michelle McKamey went a perfect 4-0 between the both of them in their singles matches. 

On Saturday, Bozovic defeated Marquette’s Milica Novakovic in two sets, 7-6, 6-3. On Sunday, Bozovic took down Sarah Eleanor Adams from Abilene Christian University in two sets, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7).

McKamey won 6-4, 6-4, versus DePaul’s Lenka Antonijevic on Saturday, and she beat Whitney Williams from Abilene Christian in two sets as well, 6-2, 6-4. 

Azcui had high praise for his freshmen’s performances and said he looks forward to their growth as the season progresses. 

“I think they are adjusting to the college game well," Azcui said. "I am very excited to see where this group could be in a month or two."

Junior Madison Appel and sophomore Caitlin Bernard won both their singles matches to each go 2-0 in singles play on the weekend. 

Appel won in two sets, 7-5, 6-3, Saturday against Abilene Christian's Lucile Pothier. She also took care of business again Sunday, beating Mississippi State’s Madison Harrison, 6-4, 6-4.

After dropping the first set, Bernard won the next two sets to take down Mississippi State’s Khrystyna Vozniak on Saturday by a score of 2-6, 6-4, 10-5. On Sunday, it took two sets for Bernard to defeat DePaul’s Patricia Lancranjan for a final score of 6-2, 6-4.

Appel and Bernard said they are both happy to be back competing because they love competitions. 

Unlike the rest of their matches this season, this weekend’s tournament was not a dual competition. 

There was a total of five doubles rounds and two singles rounds within four flights. Despite playing for three-straight days, Appel said the team morale remained high throughout the weekend.

“We pump each other up," Appel said. "The team overall was really positive and very encouraging and supportive. If we stay positive, the energy stays high.”

The Hoosiers used the energy from one another to put together a strong performance all weekend long. IU concluded the competition by winning seven of eight doubles matches Monday.

Next up, IU hosts the Crimson Invite on Saturday. Western Michigan and Butler are the Hoosiers' first test in dual competition for the 2018 spring season. The Hoosiers play Western Michigan at 10 a.m. and Butler at 5:30 p.m. at the IU Tennis Center.