In need of some momentum before hitting the road, Indiana women’s tennis returned to the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington to play host to Western Michigan University and Chicago State University on Friday. Indiana defeated Western Michigan 4-1 and Chicago State 7-0.
Without redshirt senior Lara Schneider and sophomore Elisabeth Dunac, who both battled injuries, Indiana needed players to step up.
Two Indiana freshmen were the ones who answered the call and delivered for the Cream and Crimson.
Marina Fuduric and Nicole Sifuentes have been a part of the Indiana program for just seven months. In that short span of time, the steps they have already taken to grow as players have been noticeable and have caught head coach Gabrielle Moore’s eyes.
“They have done a really good job adapting, and making a way for themselves on the court,” Moore said after Friday's doubleheader.
Indiana returned all but two players from last season's squad, and there wasn’t a clear path to a starting position for either of the freshman coming into the 2024-25 campaign.
However, the freshmen pairing has done nothing but impress everyone within the program. Fuduric plays in the No. 2 singles spot for Indiana, while Sifuentes primarily plays in the No. 4 singles spot.
The adjustment to college tennis is one that looks different for each player. The biggest adjustment for both Indiana freshmen was being a part of a team.
Fuduric joined Indiana after spending four years at the Smith Sterns Tennis Academy, located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The academy gave Fuduric many opportunities to compete against top level players, but she never had a team dynamic during her four years at the academy.
“One of the adjustments for me was cheering for my teammates and feeding off their energy,” Fuduric said.
Sifuentes had also never quite had a team dynamic in her tennis career. The Monterrey, Mexico, native competed in numerous tournaments as a singles player and never quite got the opportunity to compete with a team.
Sifuentes now has embraced the team aspect, and has enjoyed every second of screaming, cheering and helping her fellow Hoosiers out.
“It’s been kind of different, but in a good way,” Sifuentes said about working with a team. “I love having my teammates and knowing we are all there for each other to support.”
The two freshmen have found lots of personal and team success since joining the program, and that continued Friday when Indiana swept its doubleheader.
***
The Hoosiers opened the afternoon hosting Western Michigan, a program that Indiana had never lost to in the previous 18 meetings. The Hoosiers continued that trend, prevailing over the Broncos 4-1.
The match started the same way the previous four had, with Indiana dropping the doubles point.
After playing the “worst doubles” that Indiana had played this season, the Hoosiers bounced back in a big-time way on the singles courts.
Sifuentes rolled over graduate student Poilina Khotko 6-1, 6-0 to give Indiana its first point of the match. Then, fellow freshman Fuduric also picked up a win, defeating Gouws 6-4, 6-1.
The pair of wins by the freshman would set the tone for the remainder of singles matches for Indiana.
Sophomore Magdalena Swierczysnka won 6-4, 6-4 to leave the home squad just one point away from securing the match. Teodosescu then sealed a Hoosier victory with a 3-set victory 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
After a short break, Indiana’s focus turned to Chicago State, a team coming off a very successful season but dealing with some unprecedented issues.
The Cougars went 16-13 last season and won the Horizon League conference tournament. With the conference tournament win, the Cougars were selected to the NCAA tournament where they faced Michigan. Despite losing to the Wolverines 4-0, the appearance marked the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance.
Then, in unexpected fashion, head coach Jack Barton resigned from the program. Barton, who had coached both the men’s and women’s tennis teams since the 2010 season, departed the Chicago State program to “pursue a business opportunity within the tennis community.”
The university announced that a national search would take place to find the next coach of the program, but that in fact did not happen as the Cougars could not find a head coach for either of the teams. The university then hired Kiernan President as the Director of Tennis for the school, who then took the responsibility upon himself to coach both the men’s and women’s program.
With the uncertainty at the head coach position, only one of the eight players from the NCAA tournament team returned to the program. The Cougars were able to recruit one freshman, and pick up one transfer in the portal, leaving their roster with 3 athletes.
President needed players to compete in the season. With a full schedule on hand, President approached the women’s soccer team. He convinced three seniors –– Trinity Babcock, Karoline Riisnæs and Brianna Sanchez –– to take up tennis in their final season at the school.
None of the three athletes that joined the team had played tennis in high school. It was brand new to them. They decided to join the team to give their school a chance to compete and have a season.
On Friday, the Cougars traveled to Bloomington for their first match of the season. As expected, Indiana had no problem with Chicago State, winning the match 7-0. The Hoosiers dropped a total of 2 games within the whole match.
Indiana took the doubles point for the first time in five matches. Fuduric and Swierczynska rolled 6-1and Sifuentes and Lin had no issue, winning their match 6-0 in just under 30 minutes.
The singles matches were another display of utter dominance from the Hoosiers.
Fuduric, Sifuentes, Lin, Swierczynska and L’allier all won their respective matches 6-0, 6-0.
Teodosescu defeated King 6-0, 6-1 to wrap up the day and a doubleheader sweep for the Hoosiers. The pair of wins pushed Indiana above .500 and put them at 5-4 on the season.
The focus for the Hoosier program now turns to Purdue. Fuduric and Sifuentes are experiencing their first action in the rivalry, and both are excited to put their imprint on the match.
“It’s fun to have rivals, I’m super excited, and I hope I play well to help the team,” Fuduric said.
Sifuentes’ focus is on proving that Indiana is the team on the rise in the state.
“I’m pretty excited to show them that we are the team in the state that’s winning now,” Sifuentes said.
Indiana travels to face Purdue at 12 p.m. Sunday at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Hoosiers have an extreme emphasis on breaking their two-game losing streak against the Boilermakers and getting a good start in Big Ten Play.
“Anytime you play that team up north, there’s extra emphasis on that win, I think the girls are prepared going into Sunday,” Moore said. “I think we are in a good mindset, and there is no other way we would rather open up Big Ten play then beating them.”
Follow reporter Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s tennis season.
