Hoosiers looking for second defeat of Hawkeyes

Thirty-one days ago, the Iowa men’s tennis team left Bloomington with a disappointing 6-1 loss to IU. At 3 p.m. today, the Hawkeyes (8-12, 1-9 Big Ten) have another shot at the No. 67 Hoosiers (14-11, 4-6 Big Ten) in the first round of the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette. \n“You know, there’s an old saying, ‘First time you win the match, second time you’ve got to beat the man,’” said IU coach Ken Hydinger. “They were upset at losing to us down here and I know they’re going to come at us hard.”\nEnding the regular season with back-to-back losses, IU fell into a seventh-place tie with Northwestern. Having beaten the Wildcats earlier in the month, the Hoosiers earned the 7-seed in the conference tournament, with the winner of this 7-10 matchup advancing to play 2-seed Michigan Friday afternoon. \n“I think we can do really well against (Iowa),” said sophomore Peter Antons. “We’ve been playing a lot better, fighting a lot harder. We’ve just got to really concentrate and get the first matches – those doubles points are really important.”\nLast time they played, the Hawkeyes’ only singles victory came at No. 5 singles versus Antons, but they had the lead at No. 1. With a Hoosier victory secured, Iowa’s top player, Bart van Monsjou, retired from his match with IU junior Thomas Richter, despite holding a 6-3, 1-6, 3-2 lead. \nAlthough Richter was able to put the match in his win column, he knows that he might not be as fortunate this time around, should van Monsjou get ahead. Nevertheless, Richter is feeling more confident with his tennis at this point in the season.\n“I try to play more aggressive,” he said. “I’ve changed my game a little bit since that (match); so I hope I can apply my new game to the match, and just play more aggressive (and) be more consistent with shots.”\nIU is 3-1 all-time versus Iowa in the Big Ten tournament, with their most recent win coming at the 2004 tournament hosted by Michigan State. The Hoosiers have not won a Big Ten tournament since their 4-0 victory over Iowa, but IU had first round byes in each of the past two seasons. \nNo. 3-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State (24-1, 10-0 Big Ten) is the favorite to take the Big Ten title. This past weekend they knocked off Michigan, 6-1, after sweeping the other nine conference foes, 7-0. The Buckeyes took first place last year, ending a nine-year run by Illinois, this year’s 3-seed.\n“Big Ten tournament is always just a great tournament,” Hydinger said. “Throw out the balls; let’s go.”