After Notre Dame loss, IU comes home

For the IU men's tennis team, it's time for a role reversal.\nAfter being the underdog just a week ago in their season opener at nationally ranked Notre Dame, the Hoosiers come home Saturday for a pair of winnable matches against mid-majors Butler and Murray State.\nCoach Ken Hydinger, however, isn't taking the pair lightly.\n"Butler and Murray State are long successful programs with good coaches," he said. "These are good solid tennis teams. That said, at home, we feel that these are teams that we have an edge against." \nIU has been working all week in practice to maintain that edge. Coming off a tough loss at Notre Dame, the Hoosiers are looking to improve their doubles play, which let them down in spurts in South Bend. \n"We've been working on doubles all week," Hydinger said. "We were broken a few times at Notre Dame because we were out of position. We're working on having a better knowledge of where we need to cover."\nIn addition to logistics, the Hoosiers are working on building their stamina in preparation for longer matches.\n"We're working really hard right now," freshman Michael McCarthy said. "We have been running a lot and conditioning as much as possible."\nMcCarthy was one of the bright spots against Notre Dame Saturday, playing hard and forcing a set tiebreaker with Sheeva Parbhu at the No. 4 spot. The Hoosiers' best individual performance came from Jakub Praibis, the team's No. 1 player. Praibis won two singles matches and was half of the only Hoosier duo to capture a victory. Praibis is looking for the team to improve this weekend as well.\n"It was tough for us to have Notre Dame as our first meet because they are a tough team," he said. "Everyone played good matches and should be able to use that experience to get better this week."\nThis week's competition, despite its lack of national recognition, is not entirely unaccomplished. Butler, 1-1 on the current season, finished last season by winning the Horizon League Tournament and qualifying for the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs return All-Horizon League first-team member Brandon Gill and second-team member James Low.\nJason Suscha, Butler's head coach, has been awarded the past three Horizon League Coach of the Year awards.\nMurray State, while less accomplished, still presents a potential threat to the Hoosiers, says Hydinger.\n"There are teams that like that, that have nothing to lose by playing us," he said. "Because of that, they can be a little more dangerous, but that's the situation. We still have to go out and take care of our business."\nThe Hoosiers begin the weekend's play 9 a.m. Saturday against Murray State. IU will go on to play Butler at 5 p.m Saturday. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.