IU heads south for spring break tourney

The IU men’s tennis team (8-4) was in for a treat Wednesday. As they stepped onto the Varsity Courts, the sun was shining with the temperatures in the mid-40s. Junior Mike McCarthy said it was the team’s second day outside, and while the weather was pleasant in Bloomington, they have four spring break matches to play in the warm weather of Clemson, S.C.\nThe No. 75 Hoosiers left for Palmetto State on Thursday riding a three-match losing streak and an 0-4 record versus nationally ranked opponents. In three of the four matches, IU will have a chance to upset a ranked team, but the biggest difficulty may be playing outside. Senior David Bubenicek said it will be a tough transition from playing their previous 12 matches indoors.\n“The big difference will be (that) we’ll start to play outside, and the teams we’re going to play against are playing outside all the time,” Bubenicek said.\nSaturday, the Hoosiers will play No. 18 South Alabama, which began the year at No. 46, and worked their way up 28 spots with a 10-0 record. On Sunday, the Hoosiers will take on No. 20 Clemson (9-3), which is coming off of an upset of then-No. 10 Florida State. The Tigers are led by No. 72 Clement Reix, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Week and winner of his last five matches. \n“They’re two good teams that have been playing outdoors,” IU coach Ken Hydinger said. “They’re used to hitting a lot of balls. You know, they’re quality opponents.”\nAfter facing two Top-20 teams over the weekend, things will get a little easier for IU, but not by much when they square off against Furman (5-6) Thursday morning. Later that day, the Hoosiers will play their final spring break contest, as they take on Wofford (4-3). \nDespite the current losing streak, one bright spot has been the steady play at No. 1 doubles. Junior Dara McLoughlin has won seven straight matches and is 10-2 this spring, 6-2 with junior Thomas Richter and 4-0 with Bubenicek. \nDespite missing four of the last five matches, Richter is ranked No. 56 with McLoughlin in the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Bubenicek is also ranked with McLoughlin (No. 50), after filling for Richter on Saturday, where they defeated Ohio State’s No. 60-ranked doubles team 8-7. \n“I think David stepped his doubles game up a level from where he had been before; very solid and very well-rounded,” Hydinger said. “With Thomas back, that gives us some options that we can really use at doubles. We’ve got a week down there so nothing’s set in stone.”