6-game road trip ends with split matches

While the IU men’s tennis team may have taken a break from the books last week, it still had the tough task of facing two quality opponents from Texas.\nThe No. 38 IU men’s tennis team first took on No. 71 Southern Methodist in a heated battle in Dallas.\nAfter winning five of their last six matches before spring break, the Hoosiers stayed on track against Southern Methodist. IU started strong and earned the doubles point, winning two of the three doubles matches. The doubles point hinged on the play of the No. 2 doubles pair, seniors Thomas Richter and Dara McLoughlin. They delivered the victory in a tight match, winning 9-7.\nThe doubles point proved to be the decisive point of the match, as the Hoosiers defeated the Mustangs by a score \nof 4-3.\nFor the Hoosiers, the bottom of the lineup proved its toughness once again as IU won the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches. At the top of the lineup, Richter lost in three sets and in the No. 2 slot, McLoughlin fell in straight sets to the Mustangs’ Robin Fahgen, currently ranked No. 62 in the nation. \nWrapping up its short tour of Texas, IU then visited No. 20 Texas A&M. The Hoosiers entered the competition riding a three-match win streak.\nThe Hoosiers built an early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. The deciding doubles point fell on the shoulders of junior Peter Antons and freshman Santiago Gruter, and they delivered with an 8-6 victory. With the win, Antons and Gruter improved to 9-0 as a pair this spring season, and 18-2 overall this year. \nThe Hoosiers did not fare as well in singles play, losing five of six matches to give Texas A&M a 5-2 victory. The only singles win for IU came in the No. 6 position, with Gruter winning in straight sets. \nIn the No. 1 singles match, Richter came up just short against No. 31 Conor Pollock in a three-set thriller, losing 4-6, 7-6 (8), 7-5. \nWith their six-match road trip over, the Hoosiers will return home today to take on No. 45 Louisville at 1:30 p.m. The Cardinals enter the match with a 12-3 record.