Indiana women’s tennis played its final two regular season matches over the weekend, taking on No. 60 Minnesota and No. 45 Wisconsin at the IU Tennis Center. These matchups marked the final matches for the Hoosiers before the Big Ten Tournament.
The Hoosiers met first with the Golden Gophers on Saturday, needing a win for a chance to get their record back to 0.500 on Sunday. The Cream and Crimson were in a good position starting off the match after sophomore Laura Masic and freshman Lara Schneider won the first doubles match of the day. Minnesota tied the doubles score with a win in the second match and pulled away in the deciding match with a 7-5 win over Indiana juniors Lexi Kubas and Rose Hu.
Minnesota controlled the match for the rest of the evening, winning three straight singles matches to earn the overall win before Indiana could attempt a comeback. The Golden Gophers’ early dominance meant other Hoosier players couldn’t finish their singles matches, resulting in three separate “unfinished” matches. Indiana was shut out for the sixth time this season with a 4-0 loss.
Indiana faced Wisconsin on Sunday for its final regular season game of the season.
The Hoosiers found themselves in a similar situation against the Badgers after tying the score through two doubles matches, with the third match being needed to decide the doubles point. Masic and Schneider took the match to a score of 5-5 before Wisconsin junior Xinyu Cai and sophomore Alina Mukhortova pulled away in the late stages and won the match by a final score of 7-5.
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Indiana continued to struggle against Wisconsin, as the visitors recorded wins in all six singles matches. The Badgers won the match 7-0 as the Hoosiers suffered their second sweep in a row.
The Hoosiers closed out the regular season with a record of 10-14 after losing four of its last five matches. They finished the year with a record of 3-8 against Big Ten opponents.
Indiana now looks towards the postseason and will prepare for the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. The five-day tournament will take place from April 27 through May 1.
