Indiana women’s tennis looked to bounce back after its first loss of the season Feb. 1, hosting Marshall University on Friday afternoon at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington. In a back-and-forth match, the Thundering Herd stole a 4-3 win over the Hoosiers.
Marshall came into the match undefeated, sitting at 5-0 on the season. Indiana was 3-1 prior to the meeting. The two schools had only met twice coming into Friday’s match with the Hoosiers 2-0 in the all-time series.
Indiana had to play from behind as Marshall jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when it took the doubles point. Marshall’s pairing of senior Emma Vanderheyden and freshman Alina Mokrynskaya defeated redshirt senior Lara Schneider and junior Nicole Teodosescu 6-3 on the No. 1 doubles court.
On doubles court No. 2, Marshall seniors Sophia Hurrion and Aisling McGrane prevailed 6-4 over freshman Marina Fuduric and sophomore Li Hsin Lin. The win sealed the doubles point for the road squad.
Teodosescu picked up Indiana’s first point on the No. 1 singles court with her win over junior Johanna Strom 6-3, 6-1. Marshall shortly responded on the No. 4 singles court when Hurrion, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, took her match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 over Hoosier freshman Nicole Sifuentes.
Schneider evened up the match for Indiana on the No. 3 singles court with her win over Mokrynskaya 6-0, 6-3. Schneider improved her singles record this season to 4-0 as she continues to play dominant tennis.
The Thundering Herd regained the lead with Vanderhayden’s straight set 7-6, 6-4 victory over Fuduric on the No. 2 singles court. The win pushed Marshall’s lead to 3-2, only needing one more match to secure the victory.
Yet again, Indiana responded. This time, on the No. 6 singles court, sophomore Elisabeth Dunac defeated freshman Nel Van Hout in an epic 6-2, 7-6 battle. Dunac trailed 6-5 late in the second set before taking the next game and the tiebreaker to even up the contest.
All eyes turned to the deciding match on the No. 5 singles court where Lin and McGrane were in an intense back-and-forth matchup. The lead fluctuated throughout the second set in a match that both teams needed. Eventually, it was McGrane who pulled away and won 7-6, 7-6 to give Marshall the victory.
Despite the loss, Indiana head coach Gabrielle Moore was proud of the improvement and signs of growth within her squad.
“I think the areas we’ve been struggling most with, we showed up most in today,” Moore said post-match Friday. “I think this makes us better, to get through these learning lessons and now feel that pressure now because we’re going to feel it in a couple of weeks.”
With the loss, the Hoosiers’ record dropped to 3-2 on the season.
Looking ahead to fiercer competition on the horizon, Moore views consistency as the most important key to success.
“I think we just have to stay consistent, continue to do the things that we can control,” Moore stated. “If we continue to bring this kind of energy and effort, I think it’s all going to click very soon.”
Sunday vs. Xavier
Indiana had a chance to respond to Friday’s loss when it hosted Xavier University on Sunday morning at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington. The Hoosiers and Musketeers were tight all throughout the match, tallying 4 three-set matches. The competitive match resulted in a 6-1 win for the Musketeers.
Each of the doubles matches were back-and-forth and provided very close outcomes. The Xavier pairing of senior Elizabeth Pendergast and junior Emily Flowers came back late to beat Schneider and Teodosescu 6-4 on the No. 1 doubles court. Fuduric and Lin evened up the doubles scores at 1-1 after knocking off junior Abigail Siminski and freshman Clara Owen 6-4 on doubles court No. 2.
On the No. 3 doubles court, Dunac and Sifuentes lost hold of a 5-3 lead and dropped their match 7-5 to a pair of Musketeers freshman, Madeline Rexroat and Natalie Smitek. The come from behind win sealed the doubles point for Xavier.
The first singles match to conclude was the one on the No. 4 singles court. Siminski defeated Sifuentes in a wire-to-wire win 6-4, 6-3. The win extended Xavier’s lead to 2-0.
Schneider helped the Hoosiers respond with her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Flowers. Schneider has still yet to lose and improved her personal record to 5-0 in the young season. Rexroat then helped Xavier extend the lead by defeating Fuduric 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on the No. 2 singles court. Her win left Xavier needing just one point to secure the victory
Moments later, Xavier clinched the match. Pendergast sealed the deal with her 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Teodosescu on the No. 1 singles court. The No. 6 singles court concluded shortly after, resulting in Smitek prevailing over Dunac 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The final match of the afternoon went the Musketeers’ way as well. Owen defeated Indiana sophomore Magdalena Swierczynska in a lengthy three-set match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
With the loss, the Hoosiers’ record falls to .500, sitting at 3-3. Indiana returns to the IU Tennis Center at noon Feb. 15, when it hosts the University of Louisville.
Follow reporter Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s tennis season.
