2004 class gives team new depth

Coming off a year in which the Hoosiers finished the season 12-12, with six of those losses recorded by a narrow 4-3 margin, the IU coaching staff needed to add depth with the 2004 recruiting class.\nIU coach Ken Hydinger achieved that by adding highly touted recruits Michael McCarthy and Dara McLoughlin to a team that will return for the 2004 season completely intact.\nThe depth of the team was exposed last season as the Hoosiers had limited options when many of its top players suffered injuries, including the team's No. 1 singles player, senior Jakub Praibis.\n"It's (the depth) going to help a lot next season," Hydinger said. "It's going to provide a competitive situation for the team, and it will only help everyone get better."\nIncoming freshman McCarthy, like many new students, will have to get used to many changes when he arrives in Bloomington this fall, including getting acquainted with his new teammates. However, McCarthy won't have to look too far for some familiarity. His brother, Ryan, is a senior on the Hoosier team.\nThis kind of familiarity isn't foreign territory for Hydinger as well, who recently coached the Held brothers, Andrew, David and Zach, who collectively played for Hydinger from 1990-2002.\nThe Cincinnati native dominated the tennis scene in Ohio last season as he captured the singles state championship at Indian Hills High School and All-American honors while compiling a 38-0 record.\nThough the younger McCarthy is not as strong as his older brother, Hydinger described Michael as "a 5-foot-ll-inch player who moves like a deer and is a tough competitor and knows how to win."\nLast year's Hoosiers team had a foreign feel as three of the players hailed from outside the United States. With the addition of McLoughlin, IU has continued that trend.\nMcLoughlin, a 6-foot-2-inch native of Ireland, comes to IU with extensive international experience as he won a round-robin tournament that earned him a spot as an alternate for Ireland's Davis Cup match against the Ukraine July 16-18.\nWith the entire roster returning, the process of the team feeling comfortable with each other should be shorter, junior John Stone said.\n"I do feel the team will gel faster because everyone knows each other," Stone said. "We know how to play and how to act on and off the court. We just need to show Michael and Dara they are a part of our team from the beginning. These two are going to make our team even stronger."\nOne benefit the team will gain in addition to depth will be an increased level of competition. \nThe new players bring in new styles of play and experience that will only test each other in practice and help the team on game days.\nWith Hydinger expecting both players to make an impact early, playing time will be at a premium, but it will only make the team stronger, he said.\nIn adding McCarthy and McLaughlin, the Hoosiers will be looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. Stone said he hopes the addition of the two freshmen will get the team over the hump.\n"With having 10 solid players on your team it allows the coaches to mix the line-up around so we have the best opportunity to win," Stone said. "We have options now. This is probably one of the deepest teams IU has had in the last couple of years. I am looking forward to this coming season."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.