IU falls to No. 3 Illini, defeats Penn State

The IU men's tennis team couldn't have asked for much more from such a tough Big Ten opening weekend.\nIn their first conference action of the season, the Hoosiers capitalized on some of their best efforts to date en route to splitting their two weekend matches at the IU Tennis Center.\nSaturday IU gave No. 3 Illinois perhaps its closest match of the season, pushing the team to a tight 4-3 tally. Sunday the Hoosiers carried over that strong effort against No. 66 Penn State, blowing out the Nittany Lions 7-0. The Hoosiers are finally starting to piece together a total team effort, IU coach Ken Hydinger said.\n"I think we see a blueprint of what we've got to do," Hydinger said. "The guys are starting to play for each other and they're all giving 100 percent all the time."\nIU began the weekend on Saturday by surrendering all three doubles matches to the Illini, two of which were decided by tie-breaking ninth points. Despite the losses, the Hoosiers recovered to push U of I to the limit in singles competition, splitting the matches.\nSenior Jakub Praibis continued his success in the spring season, defeating No. 14 ranked Kevin Anderson at the No. 1 position.\n"They're one of the best teams in the country, especially indoors," Praibis said. "It was a really good effort on our part. We just need to try to keep this kind of play up."\nAfter the close loss, IU shifted its focus to Sunday's Penn State match. IU jumped all over the Nittany Lions early by capturing all three doubles matches. The duo of Ryan Recht and John Stone completed the doubles sweep with their win at the No. 1 spot.\nIU dominated in singles play on Sunday as well, failing to yield any wins to Penn State. Praibis led the way again for the Hoosiers, winning at the No. 1 spot, 6-3, 6-4. Stone said the key was playing like IU was the underdog.\n"Against Illinois, what do you have to lose," Stone said. "I just went out and pounded the ball, and that carried over on Sunday. I made a conscious effort to try and play that way against Penn State, and it helped my serving. That's the attitude we need to have."\nHydinger was clear about the importance of Sunday's match.\n"You don't like to say it, but this was a must-win match for us," he said. "If we were to go down 2-0 (in the Big Ten) right now, that's not a good situation. Guys responded well after the match against Illinois, and we got the conference match at home."\nThe Hoosiers have a quick turnaround this week, as they will travel to Lexington, Ky., for a match with the highly-ranked Wildcats on Wednesday. Stone said IU will take its momentum into another important contest.\n"We're on a roll right now," he said. "Everyone is finally starting to play as a whole unit. We just need to forget about the tough pre-conference schedule, and continue to play our best tennis. We are a very capable team."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.