Hoosiers fall to Illini at conference championships

The No. 37 IU men’s tennis team (16-9, 6-6) got the rematch it sought with No. 15 Illinois, but not the result the team hoped for Friday at Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten championships.\nAfter losing to the Illini 5-2 on April 13 in Champaign, Ill., the Hoosiers went on to win two of their next three, including a win over No. 17 Michigan and a victory over Northwestern in the first round in the Big Ten Tournament. \nThe Hoosiers were excited for the opportunity to play the Illini again, a team they competed well against and believed they were level with in talent, senior Dara McLoughlin said. \nUnfortunately for the Hoosiers, the momentum from the 4-0 sweep of the Wildcats on Thursday was not enough to take down the talented Illinois squad. After winning two doubles matches and earning the match’s first point, the Illini went on to win the first three singles matches and captured the match by a 4-0 decision. \nSeniors Thomas Richter, McLoughlin and freshman Santiago Gruter were unable to complete their matches because officials halted play once the match was decided at 4-0. Richter and McLoughlin’s undefeated play as a doubles pair stayed intact Friday as their doubles match at No. 2 was also halted. \nFreshman Phillip Eilers, Lachlan Ferguson and senior Michael McCarthy were all defeated in straight sets in singles matches No.3 through No. 5. \nRichter was named to the All-Big Ten first team on Thursday night at the Big Ten awards banquet. The senior was also just recently tabbed in the top 125 players nationally, falling in at No. 120.\nThe Hoosiers will find out their NCAA postseason fate as the selected teams will be announced on Tuesday, April 29. The selection show will air at 2:30 pm on ESPNEWS.