Hoosiers lose hard 'battle' Saturday

On Thursday, Coach Ken Hydinger promised a "battle." On Saturday, his players got one.\nThe IU men's tennis team lost an intense contest, 4-3, to Middle Tennessee State Saturday evening at the IU Tennis Center.\nThe match moved the Hoosiers to 2-2 on the spring season, with both losses coming to nationally ranked programs.\nHydinger liked the team's effort, but wanted to see more crucial execution in the singles matches.\n"I thought our guys played hard tonight," he said. "I thought Middle Tennessee played even harder. I just think that we have to compete a little more to get the job done. You win the doubles point at home, you have to know how to close out a match."\nThe Hoosiers began the night with success in doubles play. While the No. 1 team of Ryan Recht and John Stone lost to MTSU's top two players, they were able to rebound and get wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions to give them the lone doubles point.\nSenior Jakub Praibis, half of the successful No. 2 doubles team, felt that the team's doubles play was much improved.\n"Everyone played pretty well in doubles," he said. "Even the top team did, but (Middle Tennessee State's) No. 1 team was just really tough. We got the wins when we needed them, though."\nPraibis then faced part of MTSU's doubles tandem, the 6'10" Andreas Silijestrom, in singles. The smaller, quicker Praibis was able to beat the hard-hitting Silijestrom 6-7 (5), 6-4, 5-7. The No. 68 Silijestrom was Praibis' second victory over a ranked opponent this year, moving his total record to 4-0, all of his wins coming in the No. 1 singles spot. \n"This was a really big match for me," Praibis said. "This was not the kind of match I like to play, and I had some ups and downs, but I overcame them and was able to get a win."\nAnother bright spot for the Hoosiers came in the form of freshman Michael McCarthy. McCarthy won his match at the No. 4 spot in convincing fashion, 6-0, 6-4.\n"I really felt like I carried the momentum we had from our doubles win into my singles contest," he said. "I was able to go after my opponent and make him play."\n"As a team, we really could have won any of those matches," McCarthy said, referring to the Hoosiers' string of close singles losses. \nIU will look to avenge the weekend's loss this Saturday when they play No. 10 Virginia, and Sunday with a match against No. 65 North Carolina State. \nHydinger said the team's focus will be key in the week of practice ahead.\n"We've got two tough opponents coming up," Hydinger said. "We are going to be working on hitting every ball, moving our feet well, and focusing. We need to remember the purpose of what we're doing, and get it done."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.