Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Travel North to Face No. 7 Fighting Irish
2/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 27, 2006
Weekly Release - Notre Dame
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -The No. 31 Indiana women's tennis team travels to South Bend, Ind., to take on No. 7 Notre Dame in the Hoosiers' first mid-week match of the year. IU takes on the Irish on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006 at Notre Dame's Eck Indoor Tennis Pavilion. Heading into the match, Indiana is 9-2 overall, while the Fighting Irish boast a perfect 9-0 mark on the season.
HOOSIERS MAINTAIN NATIONAL RANKING
In the Feb. 22 ITA/Fila Rankings, the Indiana women's tennis team climbed up one slot to the No. 31 position. The Hoosiers, who have held steady in the national rankings, were last ranked No. 31 on Feb. 7, and in the other four polls been, IU has been tabbed at No. 32.
UP TO THE CHALLENGE
On Feb. 25, the Hoosiers earned their second win over a ranked opponent this season and their first over a higher-ranked team in their 5-2 win over No. 28 Tennessee at the Indiana Tennis Center. Against the highly-ranked SEC foe, IU tallied four singles wins and swept the doubles point. The win marked another first for the doubles pair of sophomore Brianna Williams and freshman Sigrid Fischer. Playing at No. 2 doubles, the Indiana twosome claimed their first doubles win over a ranked opponent when they topped No. 58 Blackeley Griffith and Victoria Jones easily by a score of 8-2.
BATTY EARNS HONOR
Senior captain Sarah Batty earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors as announced by the conference office on Feb. 15. Batty's win over DePaul's No. 85 Gergana Ganeva on Feb. 12 was her first win over a ranked opponent this season and the first of her career in the No. 1 position. The weekly honor is the Hoosiers' first weekly conference honor of the season and the second of Batty's career. Batty earned the league's weekly honor for the week of April 25-29, 2005 for her play against Big Ten foes Michigan and Michigan State.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Hoosiers find success both at home and on the road. Last season, IU took on an impressive eight ranked teams on the road (then-No. 8 Duke, then-No. 15 North Carolina, then-No. 19 Tennessee, then-No. 7 Kentucky, then-No. 32 UNLV, then-No. 61 Purdue, then-No. 61 Illinois, then-No. 75 Minnesota and then-No. 49 Iowa). Of Indiana's four road wins, three were over a ranked foe. This season, five of IU's eight road contests are against nationally-ranked opponents. The Hoosiers are slated to face No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 6 Northwestern, No. 51 Wisconsin and No. 27 Michigan away from Bloomington. So far this season, IU has suffered a loss to then-No. 21 Wake Forest, 5-2, in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Feb. 18.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana improved its record to 9-2 with an upset over No. 28 Tennessee, 5-2, on Feb. 25 at the Indiana Tennis Center. The Hoosiers earned four singles wins from senior Sarah Batty (No. 1), junior Laura McGaffigan (No. 3), freshman Alba Berdala (No. 4) and junior Cecile Perton (No. 6), while the doubles team of sophomore Brianna Williams and freshman Sigrid Fischer earned its first victory over a ranked opponent. For the 10th time this season, IU won the doubles point.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR
The Hoosiers and the Fighting Irish are no strangers to one another heading into Tuesday's match. Indiana has faced a Notre Dame player on five occasions in singles and three times in doubles in fall competition. ND played in IU's fall tournament, the Hoosier Classic, Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Bloomington. Against the Irish in singles, Indiana is 2-3 and 1-2 in doubles when facing Notre Dame in the fall. Senior Sarah Batty picked up her first win over a ranked opponent this season when she topped then-No. 54 Brook Buck , 6-2, 6-2, at the Hoosier Classic. Also at the Classic, junior Laura McGaffigan defeated ND's Katie Potts, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(4), in the Flight B singles pool finals of the Hoosier Classic. In doubles, Batty and McGaffigan beat Lauren Connelly and Kristina Stastny, 8-5, on the third day of the Classic.
THE HOOSIER - FIGHTING IRISH SERIES
The in-state foes have met a total of 20 times with IU holding the 11-9 advantage in the series. Notre Dame has won nine of the last ten matches against the Hoosiers, including the last meeting on April 10, 2005 in which the Irish narrowly escaped IU, 4-3, in Bloomington.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
The No. 7 Irish enter the 21st meeting with the Hoosiers 9-0 overall, 7-0 against ranked opponents and 6-0 when playing at home. So far this season, ND claimed wins over Ohio State, 7-0, Xavier, 7-0, then-No. 23 Wake Forest, 4-3, then-No. 10 North Carolina, 5-1, then-No. 30 Michigan, 6-1, then-No. 22 Tennessee, 7-0, then-No. 9 Harvard, 5-2, No. 20 BYU, 5-2 and No. 51 Wisconsin, 6-1. Notre Dame topped all three Big Ten opponents they have faced this season. The Irish are 9-0 for the first time since 1984-85 and have a home win streak of 10.
Notre Dame's top singles player, Catrina Thompson, has not played in the Irish's last two matches.
ND boasts three ranked doubles pairs. Catrina and Christian Thompson are No. 2 in the country, while Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft are 29th followed by the No. 49 pair of Lauren Connely and Kristina Stastny.
SEEING DOUBLE
Indiana, which has historically been strong in doubles, is maintaing that tradition this season. So far in 2006, the Hoosiers are 9-1 when winning the doubles point. On nine occasions, Indiana has won all three doubles matches en route to claiming the doubles point. In 2006, IU has been victorious in 29 of the 33 dual doubles matches.
MARCH MADNESS
The Hoosiers will spend March in Bloomington. After three road contests, Indiana will embark on a five-match home stand through March. IU will face No. 10 North Carolina to open the homestand on March 4. To open the Big Ten slate, the Hoosiers will square off against Penn State the following day. On March 19, Indiana will take on boarder-rival Louisville, followed by conference rival Purdue on Friday, March 24. Illinois come to town for the Hoosiers' second league match to cap off the busy month on March 26.
TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
The 2006 Indiana women's tennis schedule is one of the toughest in the country. Along with a grueling Big Ten schedule, the Hoosiers are set to face a total of 13 nationally ranked opponents. In the month of January, IU faced then-No. 54 Western Michigan (W, 5-2) and then-No. 14 Duke (L, 6-1). February hasn't been easier for Indiana. The Hoosiers faced then-No. 21 Wake Forest (L, 5-2) on Feb. 18 and No. 28 Tennessee (W, 5-2) on Feb. 25. IU rounds out February with No. 7 Notre Dame before conference play begins.
WHO'S NEXT?
Indiana returns home for a five-match home stand beginning with No. 10 North Carolina on Saturday, March 4 at 10 a.m., at the Indiana Tennis Center. The following day, the Hoosiers open the Big Ten campaign with Penn State at 10 a.m.
