On a team that has struggled to a 7-13 record this season, one duo is shining through on the Butler women’s tennis team.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein are 18-9 as a doubles pairing for the Bulldogs this season. That mark includes a 6-0 record in conference action.

Photo by Reid Bruner

“Teams just don’t play the way they play,” coach Jason Suscha said. “They play doubles the way it’s supposed to be played.”

McLoughlin and Rubenstein, like most college athletes, have been playing their sport of choice since they were young.

McLoughlin comes from a tennis family. Her dad was an Indiana University tennis star, and her brother, Stephen, is a senior on the Butler men’s tennis team.

“Growing up, my dad always emphasized doubles, and I played any chance I got,” McLoughlin said.

Rubenstein, a former state singles champion at Brebeuf Jesuit High School, said she was always told that if she wanted to play in college, she needed to know how to play both singles and doubles.

“You just aren’t as valuable if you can’t play both,” Rubenstein said.

The two have been playing together since their very first week of practice at Butler.

“There is no right way to do things,” Rubenstein said. “You just learn to move with your partner, and after a while you figure out their strengths and weaknesses.”

McLoughlin said she lets Rubenstein be the aggressor in their matches.

“I tend to set up on the baseline, and Gabby has great hands and puts it away,” McLoughlin said.

Doubles pair sophomore Caroline Hedrick and junior Brittany Farmer both said that to be successful in doubles, partners have to play off each other’s strengths.

“Our game really complements each other really well,” Farmer said.  “I’m more of the power player, and she’s more consistent.”

Hedrick and Farmer have been the second strongest doubles duo on the women’s team, posting a record of 9-7 overall.

“We have opposite games, but it works,” Hedrick said.

Suscha said he stresses aggressive play in doubles­— something that he said a lot of other women’s doubles teams don’t do.

Rubenstein and McLoughlin said they have embraced the style.

“We have developed a controlled aggression,” McLoughlin said. “We come across teams that play so passively, and because we play aggressively they don’t know how to handle it. We just control the match.”

Suscha said one of the toughest things for all of the Bulldogs has been adjusting from the aggressive doubles play to the more passive play seen in singles.

“You don’t usually see teams being good at both because it is two different styles of play,” Suscha said.

Hedrick said she uses doubles action as an opportunity to prepare for her No. 1 singles matches.

“I think it’s a nice segue into singles,” Hedrick said. “You are warmed up and already in the right mindset.”

McLoughlin said she recognizes the differences between singles and doubles and has been able to overcome them to be successful in doubles play.

“You don’t necessarily have to have crazy endurance or beautiful ground strokes like you do in singles,” McLoughlin said. “You just have to be aggressive.”

Rubenstein said it’s more about mentality and athleticism.

“To play great doubles, you have to be more gifted athletically,” Rubenstein said. “But more importantly, you have to have the right mindset.”

Suscha said that Rubenstein and McLoughlin really understand what it takes to be successful.

“If you play [doubles] right and you play it aggressively, it’s hard to lose,” Suscha said. “And they’ve got it going on. They’re always coming at you.”

The Butler women’s tennis team defeated Green Bay 7-0 Sunday.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein won 8-1 in their No. 1 doubles match.

Seniors Cam Thompson and Ashley Breitenbach won 8-4 in No. 2 doubles to secure the point for the Bulldogs (7-13, 4-2).

Butler also won all of its singles matches against the Phoenix (4-12, 2-5).

The day before, the Bulldogs fell to Milwaukee 6-1.

McLoughlin and Rubenstein won 8-3 at No. 1 doubles, and the team of junior Brittany Farmer and sophomore Caroline Hedrick also picked up an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles.

The Bulldogs could not overcome losses in all six singles contests to the Panthers (12-7, 5-1).

Butler now sits one game back of second place in the conference standings.

The Butler men’s tennis team was defeated by Green Bay 6-1 on Sunday.

The Bulldogs (3-18, 2-3) captured the doubles point against the Phoenix (16-6, 5-1) with victories in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.

Freshman Tommy Marx and senior Zach Ervin won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, and senior Stephen McLoughlin and freshman Sam O’Neill won 9-8 at No. 3 doubles.

The loss was the Bulldogs’ fifth straight and dropped the team to sixth place in the Horizon League.

Both Butler teams finish their regular season with matches at Cleveland State on Saturday and at Youngstown State on Sunday.

The Butler women’s tennis team defeated Wright State 5-2 on Saturday to collect its third victory in Horizon League play this season.

The win moved the Bulldogs (4-14, 3-1) into fourth place in the conference.

Butler’s No. 1 and No. 2 doubles pairings led the way against the Raiders (8-10, 2-2).

Butler sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein captured a 9-7 win over senior Masha Peresetsky and freshman Abby Lewis in the No. 1 match.

In the No. 2 match, junior Brittany Farmer and sophomore Caroline Hedrick defeated junior Kayla Tuscany and freshman Alex Bastock 8-3 to secure the doubles point for the Bulldogs.

In singles action, Hedrick defeated Tuscany 6-2, 7-5 in the No. 1 slot.

Rubenstein, Farmer and sophomore Angelina Qin also picked up singles wins for Butler.

Farmer’s match against Lewis lasted three sets, with Farmer coming from behind and winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Butler and Milwaukee are currently tied in the league standings, and the squads will face off in Indianapolis Friday afternoon.

Green Bay then visits Butler Saturday afternoon.

The Butler women’s tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss to Saint Louis on Sunday.

Photo by Reid Bruner

The Bulldogs (5-11, 2-1) received victories from sophomore Gabrielle Rubenstein at No. 3 singles and junior Brittany Farmer at No. 4 singles.

The Billikens (9-8) swept the remainder of the singles matches and took two of three doubles matches.

On Saturday, Butler grabbed its second win in Horizon League play this season, defeating Detroit 5-2.

The Bulldogs received wins in the top two and bottom two singles matches. The team also won two of three doubles matches against the Titans (4-9, 1-2).

Senior Cam Thompson and sophomores Caroline Hedrick, Stephanie McLoughlin and Angelina Qin had singles wins for Butler.

The Bulldogs will continue their season Saturday at Wright State.

The Butler women’s tennis team split a pair of Horizon League matches over the weekend, topping Valparaiso and falling to Illinois-Chicago.

The Flames (9-3, 2-0) won eight of nine matches en route to a 7-0 victory over the Bulldogs (4-11, 1-1) on Sunday.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein led the team in the loss, winning 8-7 at No. 1 doubles.

Butler had more success at Valparaiso (0-3, 4-7) on Saturday, winning 7-0.

Sophomore Caroline Hedrick, returning from a foot injury, won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.

Hedrick also teamed with junior Brittany Farmer in a win at No. 2 doubles.

The Bulldogs won all six singles matches and all three doubles bouts.

Butler will host conference opponent Detroit on Friday at 2 p.m.

Teams at all levels of athletics go through tough stretches of play over the course of a season.

Members of the Butler men’s and women’s tennis teams can attest to that right now.

Both squads have suffered from extended losing streaks prior to conference play this season.

The men’s team dropped its first 10 matches this season before coming out on top against Bradley on Feb. 24.

The women started their spring season with a 2-3 mark before becoming mired in their current seven-game losing streak.

As a result of these struggles, the men sit at 1-13 while the women hold a record of 2-10.

For the men, the 10-match drought was two matches longer than the squad’s lengthiest skid over the past six seasons.

“We’ve played a good number of ranked teams, and the level of tennis is pretty high,” freshman Pulok Bhattacharya said. “We did manage to learn from [the losses]. Everything isn’t coming together right now.”

The men have played six teams that were ranked in the nation’s top 100 at some point this season, including a season-opening match against current No. 2 Ohio State.

The Bulldogs took on five of those ranked teams on the road as well, with the team’s Feb. 5 match against Harvard being the exception.

While the women’s team has taken on only one ranked team— Memphis on Feb. 12—the Bulldogs have faced off against squads from 10 different conferences.

“We had a really tough schedule at the beginning of the season with IU and DePaul,” sophomore Caroline Hedrick said. “We’re having a hard time getting a rhythm down.”

Non-conference play has proven to be far more difficult than Horizon League action for both teams.

Last season, the men captured three of their six regular-season victories in conference play, while the women scored six of their 14 wins in league play.

“I think we’re still a top contender to win the conference,” freshman Tommy Marx said. “We just have to put it together.”

Both Marx and Bhattacharya expressed the importance of seniors Zach Ervin and Stephen McLoughlin, who are the elder statesmen on a team with six freshmen.

“The seniors know how to change the mood at practice,” Bhattacharya said. “Mainly it’s them motivating and always being behind us.”

Players from both teams said injuries have played a big role in the slow starts.

Hedrick, the regular No. 1 singles player on the women’s team, has been sidelined with an injured foot. She says she hopes to be practicing again during spring break.

For the men, Bhattacharya and McLoughlin have missed time with injuries.

Still, players said there have been missed opportunities.

“[The match against] Grand Valley State could’ve been a win, and Ball State was close,” sophomore Gabrielle Rubenstein said. “It’s all about competing under pressure.”

Marx said that the men’s team “definitely would’ve won at Dayton with a full lineup.”

Players on both sides said that coach Jason Suscha has been instrumental during the tough times.

“One of the biggest things he says is trying versus competing,” senior Kahfii King said. “It’s a very interesting concept: not trying to do what you think you can do but doing what you know you can do.”

Sophomore Brad DiCarlo said the men’s team has also been having two practices every day “to get more work in.”

Horizon League play begins for both teams on March 24.

Both teams will open on the road against Valparaiso and Illinois-Chicago on March 24 and 25, respectively.

Hedrick said the match against UIC is big because “we haven’t beaten them in a long time.”

For the men, Marx said, “Cleveland State and Green Bay will be the two toughest teams in the league.”

Players from both teams said that despite the tough start, they feel they have a good chance.

“We’re always thinking we want to win conference,” Rubenstein said.

“The main goal is to try and win conference and make the NCAA tournament,” Bhattacharya said.

The Butler women’s tennis team dropped a pair of matches over the weekend, extending its losing streak to seven.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs (2-10) fell to Illinois State 6-1 at home.

Junior Brittany Farmer was the only Bulldog to pick up a win against the Redbirds (5-5), defeating sophomore Phyllis Tigges 6-2, 6-4 in singles action.

On Friday, the Bulldogs fell to Western Michigan 7-0.

Butler’s lone victory against the Broncos (9-6) came in doubles competition.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein came out on top against Western Michigan senior April Kerr and freshman Caroline Aleck 8-7 (7-1) in No. 1 doubles.

On Wednesday, Butler lost to Ball State 6-1.

The Bulldogs will host Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Friday.

The Butler women’s tennis team lost a close 4-3 home match against Grand Valley State (15-5) on Sunday.

Sophomores Stephanie McLoughlin and Gabrielle Rubenstein led the Bulldogs (2-6) in against the Lakers (15-5).

McLoughlin captured a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Grand Valley State sophomore Niki Shipman.

At No. 2 singles, Rubenstein defeated freshman Leah Dancz 6-0, 6-3 to give Butler another point.

The pair also teamed up to win a No. 1 doubles match against seniors Tara Hayes and Alyssa Lucas 8-1.

Photo by Marcy Thornsberry

“In doubles, Gabrielle and I have been playing solid tennis lately,” McLoughlin said. “I thought we moved very well and closed the net very effectively, which allowed us to get the win.”

The Bulldogs also lost 5-2 at Evansville on Friday.

The Purple Aces (6-3) won two doubles matches and four singles matches against Butler.

Butler sophomore Angelina Qin led the Bulldogs by winning in straight sets at No. 5 singles.

“We are playing solid and competing hard with some quality teams,” Qin said. “Our losses are only helping us prepare for later matches so that we can win.”

The Bulldogs will continue their season today when they host Ball State at 3 p.m.

The spring season did not open as the Butler women’s tennis team might have hoped, as the squad fell to DePaul at home on Saturday and at Indiana on Friday.

Sophomore Stephanie McLoughlin led the Bulldogs (0-3) in a 7-0 loss to the Blue Devils (4-1).

Photo by Marcy Thornsberry

The second-year player suffered a close loss at No. 2 singles and took part in the tightest doubles match between the teams.

McLoughlin won eight games against DePaul freshman Patricia Fargas, but Fargas pulled out a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

At No. 1 doubles, McLoughlin teamed with sophomore Gabrielle Rubenstein in an 8-4 loss to the duo of senior Gia McKnight and freshman Jasmin Kling.

Butler’s season-opening tilt against Indiana did not go much better for the Bulldogs, who came out on the wrong end of a 7-0 defeat.

None of Butler’s singles players were able to win more than four games in a set against the Hoosiers (3-1).

Junior Brittany Farmer and sophomore Caroline Hedrick won more games in doubles action than any other Butler duo, dropping an 8-3 decision to senior Evgeniya Vertesheva and sophomore Kayla Fujimoto.

The Bulldogs will stay in Indianapolis to host Western Kentucky on Friday before heading to Dayton on Saturday.

The Butler women’s tennis team will enter its Saturday match on a five-match winning streak after capturing four wins in five days.

Two of those wins were against schools the Bulldogs (5-3) had never defeated before.

Xavier (4-6) was one of those foes, and the Musketeers fell 5-2 on Feb. 23.

“This match definitely means a lot,” senior Gabriela Bobrowski said. “After our start to the season, we can definitely tell that things are starting to come together.”

Two days later, the team found itself facing another opponent Butler had never beaten, the Redbirds of Illinois State (2-4).

Things were difficult in the beginning for the Bulldogs when Bobrowski and sophomore Brittany Farmer lost their matches’ first sets.

However, neither was willing to give up. Each battled back to win their matches and help guide the Bulldogs to a 5-2 win.

“I recognized at the beginning of the year that things were just not clicking,” head coach Jason Suscha said. “We’d come close in every one of our matches, but we just couldn’t get everything to work at the same time.

“With a couple wins under our belt, I can definitely see all of the gears starting to turn at once.”

The Bulldogs headed home with  momentum and played Suscha’s alma mater, the Evansville Purple Aces (6-3), the next day.

The match started with a tightly-contested set of doubles duels.

Butler’s freshmen duo of Gabrielle Rubenstein and Stephanie McLoughlin dropped a close match at No. 1 doubles.

But, the Bulldogs clinched the doubles point thanks to a No. 2 doubles win by Bobrowski and Farmer and a No. 3 doubles win by senior Natali Jaimes and freshman Caroline Hedrick.

Hedrick came back after her doubles win to provide the Bulldogs with yet another key performance.

After dropping her first set, 6-0, she rolled past Evansville junior Dora Kotsiou, 6-2, 6-0, in the final two sets of the No. 2 singles match.

Her win provided Butler with its third consecutive 5-2 victory.

Bobrowski said fatigue could strike them at any moment, due to playing so many matches on consecutive days.

“[Suscha] was saying that even if we didn’t feel it, we would eventually get fatigued,” she said. “We definitely couldn’t afford to make mistakes and do any more work than we needed.

“I think that helped us against Evansville, and even more so against Dayton.”

Butler completed a 4-0 week with a 6-1 victory against Dayton (2-5) on Sunday afternoon.

The Bulldogs, as they had done throughout the week, started by winning the doubles point.

Butler then won five of six singles matches, with four of the victories coming in straight sets to seal the undefeated weekend.

Butler’s three freshmen—Hedrick at No. 2 singles, McLoughlin at No. 3 and Rubenstein at No. 5—each posted convincing wins. Bobrowski also won easily at No. 4 singles, and Farmer won in three sets at the No. 6 spot.

The Bulldogs’ schedule continues versus DePaul Saturday and Ball State Sunday.

“After this past week, I feel like the team is prepared to face those top caliber teams on our schedule,” Suscha said.

“Whether it be DePaul, Ball State or Georgia, I believe we’ll be ready for them with a greater sense of confidence.”