Monday, 04/06/2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University women's tennis team won yet another tightly-contested battle Saturday afternoon, defeating the visiting Hawkeyes of Iowa, 4-3. It marked the Hoosiers seventh 4-3 match this season, and sixth victory by the 4-3 tally.

"We came out pretty flat in the doubles, but competed really hard in the singles," said Head Coach Lin Loring. "This was our sixth 4-3 win of the year and we really needed it."

Indiana improves to 11-7 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten with the win. The Hoosiers have posted back-to-back 4-3 triumphs after notching a road win at Purdue a week ago.

The team score was certainly not the only thing tight as three of the six singles contests went into a third set. In addition, the doubles competition was split 2-1. Indiana's Myriam Sopel and Lindsey Stuckey were the first to finish at No. 3 doubles, topping Ally Majercik and Lynee Poggensee-Wei, 8-6. Iowa bounced back, however, to grab the last two doubles matches and the early 1-0 advantage on the team scoreboard. The first team point of the day came down to a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles, which went in favor of the Hawkeyes, 9-7.

Following the straight-set singles matches, the team score was even at 2-2. Alba Berdala picked up a `W' at third singles while Iowa was victorious at first and sixth singles.

No. 5 singles was a roller coaster of a match. First, Stuckey cruised to a 6-0 first set before dropping the second stanza, 6-2. It then took a tiebreaker to decide the third and final set. Stuckey jumped ahead 3-0. Her opponent, Jessica Young, then ended her run by snagging the fourth point . Stuckey responded with another long run; this time a four-point stretch to conclude the match (6-0, 2-6, 7-6(1)).

As the No. 2 singles contest went in favor of the Hawkeyes, the entire match came down to senior captain Sigrid Fischer. Had a bystander simply watched Fischer's first set, he/she would have thought the Hoosiers were in big trouble. Fischer struggled early in her 6-1 first-set loss. The Eisenberg, Germany native regrouped, however, and fought back for a pair of 7-5 set triumphs; sealing the deal for the Hoosiers in a 4-3 team win. Fischer's 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win is her 11th of the dual-match season, tops on the team.

"Our upperclassmen really came through," said Loring. "Alba, Sigrid and Lindsey all came through with big wins. Sigrid was at 5-5 in the third and Lindsey was down 5-6 in the third. We needed both of those matches to win and they played great once the match was on the line."

COMPLETE RESULTS
Doubles:
No. 1- Molnar/Young (IOWA) def. Guerreiro/Zapadalova (IU) 9-8(7)
No. 2- Dorr/Klockenga (IOWA) def. Fischer/Martin (IU) 8-5
No. 3- Sopel/Stuckey (IU) def. Majercik/Poggensee-Wei (IOWA) 8-6

Singles:
No. 1- #92 Sonja Molnar (IOWA) def. Katya Zapadalova (IU) 6-3, 6-0
No. 2- Alexis Dorr (IOWA) def. Charlotte Martin (IU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 3- Alba Berdala (IU) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (IOWA) 6-4, 6-1
No. 4- Sigrid Fischer (IU) def. Kelcie Klockenga (IOWA) 1-6, 7-5, 7-5
No. 5- Lindsey Stuckey (IU) def. Jessica Young (IOWA) 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(1)
No. 6- Myriam Sopel (IU) def. Ally Majercik (IOWA) 6-4, 6-2

The Cream and Crimson return to the courts on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live match updates will be available for the match against Minnesota. With inclement weather forecasted, the match is likely to take place indoors at the IU Tennis Center.