IU is halfway through its conference schedule with a 2-4 record after beating Iowa and falling to Nebraska over the weekend.
The Hoosiers started off the weekend by beating the Hawkeyes 4-3 on Saturday.
IU lost the doubles point, but sophomore Caitlin Bernard, freshmen Michelle McKamey and Olga Zavarotnaya, and senior Xiwei Cai earned singles victories.
McKamey picked up her first career conference win, beating senior Montana Crawford, 0-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Zavarotnaya won in three sets as well, defeating senior Adrienne Jensen, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Cai clinched the match for IU when she beat Adorabol Huckleby, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
IU trailed Iowa 3-1. IU Coach Ramiro Azcui said it was a great comeback for the team and he's very happy for his players. IU’s win over Iowa was its 14th of the season, already matching last year’s win total.
The Hoosiers hosted the Cornhuskers not even 24 hours after finishing up their match with Iowa.
IU started the matchup losing a close doubles point to Nebraska. Sophomore Caitlin Bernard and junior Natalie Whalen lost in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (8-6). Junior Madison Appel and freshman Jelly Bozovic also lost in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5).
Bernard, Bozovic, Cai, McKamey and Whalen lost in straight sets, and IU lost to Nebraska 6-1.
Appel got the Hoosiers their only point of the match, defeating senior Brianna Lashway 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).
Azcui said his team made too many mistakes, such as unforced errors, against Nebraska.
IU played a three-and-a-half-hour match the day before, and Azcui said there was probably some fatigue as a result. IU has not had this quick of a turnaround between matches in conference play this season.
Azcui changed the doubles lineup against Minnesota last week, and he stayed with that lineup in both matches this weekend.
The tandems were Appel and Bozovic, Bernard and Whalen, and McKamey and Zavarotnaya.
IU is 1-6 in doubles in conference play, and IU lost the doubles point in both matches this weekend.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit here lately in doubles,” Azcui said. “We have not been having that spark. We put ourselves in a position to win the doubles point against Nebraska, and unfortunately we came up short.”
Azcui said individually there are different things each player needs to work on, and this week he is focusing on improving those facets in practice.
IU is halfway through its six-game home stand, and it will be host to in-state rival Purdue on Saturday.
