After a week off, the Irish hope to bounce back from two straight losses on the road as they face Indiana University and Wright State University at the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Sunday.
Notre Dame’s last match was a 4-1 loss against Louisville in the conference opener Feb. 9, as the match against University of Illinois on Feb. 11 was canceled due to weather conditions. Although the Irish (2-2, 0-1 ACC) have had a break from competition, head coach Jay Louderback said the nine-day break was beneficial.
“It was tough that we had a canceled meet and we eventually need to get it rescheduled,” Louderback said. “It ended up being good though because it gave the girls two days off, Saturday and Sunday. We had some good practices and we came back focused after those two days off.”
While Notre Dame started the season with two straight 7-0 sweeps, the Irish have dropped their last two matches, both road matchups. Despite the recent dip in form, Louderback said the tough matches will benefit the team in the long run.
“We've had a good week of practice and felt like both meets will help us later on,” Louderback said. “Being on the road and having an ACC match on the road is something everyone has to go through. The freshmen and sophomores have to go through tough ones on the road eventually, and we bounced back with a great week of practice.”
With the upcoming match Sunday, Louderback said the team will have to be prepared to handle the intensity Indiana (8-1) brings and unknown of Wright State (3-5).
“We always have tight matches with Indiana no matter what the rankings are, even if one is ranked way higher than the other,” Louderback said. “They are pretty big hitters, and I’m happy to be home to play them. We are also indoors so we need to be ready for balls with pace.
”We haven't played Wright State before though. It looks like they have been up and down. They've played well during their last matches and seem better now than earlier in the year. But the second match is always tougher. The girls are in shape though so it should be fun to watch. The second match will also provide us an opportunity to try out different double teams.”
Notre Dame is set to open the competition Sunday against the Hoosiers at 10:00 a.m., followed by Wright State at 2:00 p.m.
