The Indiana women's tennis team traveled to South Carolina on Friday to play against the College of Charleston in a nonconference matchup. The Hoosiers dropped the first point of the match after falling short in the doubles matches and couldn't recover, leading to a 5-2 loss against the Cougars.
The overall record for Indiana now drops to 7-8 as the team heads into conference play.
Friday’s matchup marked the first ever meeting between the two teams and was the Hoosiers’ third straight game away from Bloomington.
Charleston’s early lead, with the doubles point in hand, came after winning the final two doubles matches. In the decisive third and final doubles match of the day, Indiana juniors Lexi Kubas and Rose Hu forced a tiebreaker after tying the match at 6-6. The Hoosiers weren't able to secure the match point, losing by a score of 7-6 (8-6).
Charleston later went on to score four consecutive points to take a 5-0 lead.
Most of Indiana’s success came in the singles matches, where the team tried to mount a comeback. Junior Mila Mejic secured a 6-3, 6-3 win over Charleston senior Elizabeth Nowak. The Hoosiers then scored their second point in a row with a singles win by sophomore Laura Masic in three sets, scoring 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 against Charleston junior Halli Trinkle.
The two late points weren’t enough for the Hoosiers to get the unlikely victory as the Cougars held on for a 5-2 finish.
Charleston now improves to 11-5 after earning its 10th win at home this season. The win over Indiana also marks its first win against a Power Five conference opponent in over six years and their seventh win in a row this season.
Indiana’s loss means it still holds a winless record on the road at 0-5. The Hoosiers have now lost three games in a row and are 1-5 in their last six matches.
Charleston was the last nonconference opponent for Indiana in the 2022 season. The Hoosiers will get set for the remainder of the regular season, which will be played against only Big Ten competition. Their first four conference matches will be played in Bloomington.
The first opponent on the list is Iowa, which Indiana will face on March 26. The following day, Indiana will play its second match of the weekend against Nebraska.
