High-seeded Hoosiers head to Big Tens

Three months ago, the IU men's tennis team planned on a top Big Ten finish.\nTomorrow, at the Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Ill., the Hoosiers will get their last chance to fulfill those expectations and take home the conference crown.\nIU, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will begin its run when it squares off against Northwestern at 10 a.m. Friday. \nThe chance for the Hoosiers to mount a title run is a special opportunity, IU coach Ken Hydinger said.\n"Tournament time is that one last chance," he said. "It's the last chance you get to go out and grab that golden ring."\nThe Northwestern squad that awaits IU is one that tied the Hoosiers' Big Ten conference record at 6-4 and thanks to a 4-3 IU win over the Wildcats on April 2, just missed out on the No. 4 seed itself. \nIn that April 2 IU win, the Hoosiers won the doubles point and then rode wins from two of their seniors, Jakub Praibis and Tom Bagnato, and one of its juniors, John Stone. With a win Friday, IU could place itself in the final four of the draw, but Hydinger does not expect an easy road to Saturday and Sunday's final matches. \n"When you're looking at Northwestern in the first round, you're looking at an absolute battle," he said. "Our last match with them was extremely tight and this one will be as well."\nIf the Hoosiers are able to move past Northwestern, they'll likely face No. 1-seeded Illinois, a team that coasted through the Big Ten season with a 10-0 conference record. The Fighting Illini have amassed a 20-3 record and a No. 5 national ranking. \nThe Hoosiers were able to provide one of the rare challenges to Illinois' supremacy during the conference season, only barely losing to the Illini 4-3 at the IU Tennis Center March 5. If IU meets Illinois in the second round, Hydinger sees it as a chance to alleviate one of the team's "disappointments of the season."\n"That was one of the bigger letdowns this year," he said. "It was just a huge disappointment not to get that win, because it would have been so big. Now, you obviously look at this match and the chance to beat Illinois in Champaign. It's a major opportunity."\nBagnato, who will be playing in his last Big Ten Championship tournament, said the team had mixed feelings in regards to its final regular-season results. \n"We expected so much out of ourselves at the start of the year," he said. "We're a pretty experienced team, and we expected to do a bit better, so that's disappointing. At the same time, we finished better than we ever have since I've been here, so that's satisfying."\n"Now we have a chance to go out and get a title. Either you're ready to play or not, and we're all ready to play."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.