In its first competitive action in more than two months, the IU women’s tennis team started the calendar year strong at the IU Winter Invitational, especially in its doubles matches. Over the course of the three-day event, which began Saturday, the Hoosiers boasted a 13-3 doubles record.
It was two different Hoosier pairings that led the Hoosiers to victory over the weekend. Freshmen Rose Hu and Mila Mejic went 4-0 over the weekend, as did freshman Lexi Kubas and junior Michelle McKamey. Finding two successful doubles pairings was good news for IUas it spent the fall searching for such possible pairings with its four freshmen on the roster.
“My goal was for them to kind of keep finding the doubles combinations,” IU head coach Ramiro Azcui said. “Overall, the weekend was really good. It’s always great to see the underclassmen be able to step in right away and make an impact.”
Hu, a freshman from Beijing, China, wasn’t only victorious in her doubles matches. She also won both of her singles matches, where she beat players from Marquette University and Marshall University.
Senior Annabelle Andrinopoulos, a graduate transfer from the University of Colorado, was another Hoosier who went 2-0 in her singles matches.
For the rest of the IU team, the singles results were mixed. With every player competing in two singles matches, most of IU’s competitors split their matches over the weekend.
“We need to play a little bit more disciplined tennis,” Azcui said. “We need to keep working on returns.”
Next up for the Hoosiers is a trip down south to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to play the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in its first dual matches of 2020. The first match is set to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Azcui said the Crimson Tide are a top-35 team in the country and will be a significant road test for IU. It defeated both Kennesaw State University and Alabama A&M University this past Sunday.
Azcui said he hopes this weekend helped acclimate his newcomers to the feeling of college tennis, especially now that his team faces its first road challenge of the new year this coming week.
