Before each regular season, the women’s tennis team concludes its offseason at the end of January with the Indiana Winter Invitational.
This year, IU was joined by Abilene Christian University, Marquette University, Wichita State University and Wright State University for singles and doubles action at the IU Tennis Center from Saturday through Monday.
Saturday and Sunday began with two rounds of doubles before a round of singles. The doubles matches were best of one set, while the singles matches were two out of three. The teams played just two rounds of doubles Monday.
With a 29-9 team record on the weekend, the Hoosiers were the most consistent team at the event.
“I think we showed a lot of energy, especially on this last day,” junior Caitlin Bernard said. “I know people can be extremely tired, but everyone competed very well, all three days.”
Bernard played her doubles with senior Natalie Whalen. The duo went a perfect 6-0 throughout the weekend behind strong play at the net from Bernard and Whalen's determination to get to each ball.
IU had another dominant doubles pairing of senior Madison Appel and sophomore Jelly Bozovic. Together, the two outscored their opponents 37-18 in games on the doubles court to go undefeated in six matches.
The Hoosiers went 18-6 in doubles play while each IU pairing contributed at least two wins. Sophomore Michelle McKamey and freshman Somer Henry went 3-3 throughout the invitational. Sophomore Olga Zavarotnaya was unable to play for IU, so junior Anna McCoy was paired with two different Abilene Christian athletes for doubles matches.
The Hoosiers played as well at doubles as they did singles. With each athlete playing two singles matches, IU combined for an 11-3 record, the best of any school at the invitational.
Six Hoosiers won their singles matches in straight sets Saturday while Henry lost 7-5, 6-2 to Abilene Christian freshman Sylvia Viljoen. Henry would redeem herself with a 6-2, 7-5 win Sunday.
The other two losses for IU came Sunday by way of a Bernard loss in straight sets and a heartbreaking defeat for Bozovic. The sophomore dropped the first set 7-5 before storming back in the second to win it 6-3. A third set tiebreaker saw Bozovic on the losing end of the match. It was her only loss of the weekend.
The Hoosiers’ senior core of Appel and Whalen carried the team, not just in doubles play, but singles too. The pair combined to give up just 17 games to opponents in the eight sets of singles that they played. Appel and Whalen were the invitational’s lone athletes with perfect 8-0 records.
“The two seniors that I have are doing a phenomenal job leading this team,” IU Head Coach Ramiro Azcui said. “They want to be able to lead by example on the court, and they have been doing that.”
This event was special for Azcui, he said, because he was able to coach against his alma mater, Abilene Christian.
“It’s been a long time, but it’s always nice to have your alma mater here,” Azcui said. “The head coach, John Walker, was actually my teammate in college. We belonged to the same social clubs. It was pretty neat to have him on our courts.”
Azcui was a top player out of Bolivia, his home country, before signing to play tennis at Abilene Christian. In his four seasons with the Wildcats, Azcui garnered all-conference honors at both singles and doubles.
IU begins its regular season at 11 a.m. Jan. 26 at the IU Tennis Center for match play against University of Cincinnati and Xavier University.
