After dropping a pair of matches on the West Coast, Indiana women’s tennis returned home to face Michigan and Michigan State. The Hoosiers entered the weekend losers in five of their last six matches.
With a chance to gain some momentum, Indiana split the pair of weekend matches as its record now sits at 8-11 overall and 2-7 in Big Ten play.
The first match of the weekend was against No. 3 Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines have been one of the top teams in the nation this year, entering with a 15-3 record and riding a nine-game winning streak.
The struggle to find consistency has been an issue the Hoosiers have been fighting all year. The struggle continued Saturday as the Wolverines prevailed 4-0 over the Hoosiers.
Michigan got out to a quick start by taking the doubles point.
On the No. 3 doubles court, the Wolverines pairing of junior Lily Jones and freshman Ava Bruno prevailed 6-2 over sophomore Elisabeth Dunac and freshman Marina Fuduric.
The No. 2 doubles point was the one that clinched Michigan’s first point. Sophomore Piper Charney and freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde rolled over sophomore Li Hsin Lin and freshman Nicole Sifuentes 6-1.
The same dominance continued in singles play. The road squad took all three singles points that were decided.
No. 38 ranked Lily Jones made quick work of Indiana junior Nicole Teodosescu 6-3, 6-0 on the No. 3 singles court. No. 71 Sartz-Lunde and sophomore Reese Miller followed suit, each nabbing straight set victories, and leading Michigan to a 4-0 sweep over Indiana.
Less than 24 hours later, the Hoosiers returned to the IU Tennis Center with another chance to pick up their second Big Ten win. This time, against another school from the Great Lake State: No. 58 Michigan State. The Hoosiers bounced back with a 4-1 victory over the Spartans.
From the first serve of the afternoon, two of Indiana’s strongest — and most seasoned — players were on a mission. Redshirt senior Lara Schneider and Teodosescu had their eyes on getting the Hoosiers back on track, and the duo did not disappoint.
Indiana started Sunday’s matchup on the right note, taking the doubles point for just the second time in the last eight matches.
Schneider and Teodosescu started the scoring with a dominant performance on the No. 1 doubles court. The pairing defeated senior Liisa Vehviläinen and freshman Ellie Blackford 6-3.
The Hoosiers then sealed the doubles point on the No. 3 doubles court, where Fuduric and Dunac defeated junior Matilde Morais and freshman Amara Brahmbhatt, 6-2, to give Indiana an early 1-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived, though, as Blackford prevailed over Fuduric in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 on the No. 2 singles court to pull the Spartans even.
Teodosescu was in a back-and-forth battle in the first set that ended up going into a tiebreaker on the No. 3 singles court. Teodosescu was leading 5-3 when Brahmbhatt was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct point penalty after slamming her racket, resulting in a set victory for the Indiana junior. Teodosescu continued to build on that momentum and rolled to a 6-3 second set win to give Indiana a 2-1 lead.
Head coach Gabrielle Moore was impressed with how consistent Teodosescu was on the afternoon.
“I think Nicole had been struggling with consistency, but she showed up today and was a big part of our win,” Moore said post-match.
Schneider later dazzled once again on the No. 1 singles court. After trailing 3-1 in the first set, she roared back to force a tiebreaker that she later won 7-1. The second set was utter dominance: a 6-1 second set victory extended the Indiana lead to 3-1, leaving it one point away from an upset victory.
Sifuentes clinched the match for the Hoosiers with her three-set victory over Spartans junior Issey Purser 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Sifuentes’ win sealed the 4-1 win for the Hoosiers and notched their second conference win of the season.
Moore believes this win might have been the best one so far.
“I think this is the biggest win for us,” Moore said. “It’s nice when they can feel the process and now they know what it takes.”
Trusting the process has been a big phrase for Moore this year, but finally getting that positive result may prove as important momentum for the Hoosiers down the stretch of the season.
Indiana returns to action against Minnesota at 5 p.m. Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
Follow reporter Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s tennis season.
