Langer, Hoosiers open season on high note at home

Before the IU men’s tennis team’s Hoosier Invitational this weekend, sophomore Lachlan Ferguson said he wanted IU to “clean sweep” the event.

While the Hoosiers did not have a champion in every bracket, they were clearly the weekend’s dominant team and did clean sweep the premier events.

The 10-team invitational divided the players into four singles brackets and two doubles brackets, producing six champions overall. In the top-flight singles bracket, Ferguson defeated senior teammate Chris Peek 6-1, 6-0 in the finals to claim an individual title.

“This was a first tournament for the semester, and it’s always just nice to win,” Ferguson said. “Everyone else out here wants to win as well, and there’s 50 guys, and if you can come out on top, it doesn’t really matter how you do it, it’s going to be a confidence booster.”

In the top doubles bracket, Peek and freshman Jeremy Langer defeated Ferguson and senior Peter Antons 8-6. In an early Big Ten preview, Ferguson and Antons defeated Michigan State’s Jason Norville and John Allare in the semifinals 8-0.

IU coach Randy Bloemendaal was impressed with the weekend performances of his newcomers, including freshman Langer, who also won his singles bracket title with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Western Michigan’s Zeyad Montasser.

“You come in as a freshman; that’s pretty tough,” Bloemendaal said. “He had an amazing tournament as well. I’m very proud of Jeremy, just being a tough kid, coming in and doing what we’ve asked him to do.”

Langer was more subdued, saying that he was simply doing what he was supposed to do.

“It feels good (to win), but every tournament is the same. I’m not playing the opponent, just the ball,” he said.

Peek, a senior transfer from Charleston Southern, also performed well in his first tournament as a Hoosier.

“Those guys are playing at a different level than when they started the tournament,”
Bloemendaal said. “That’s what we wanted to get out of this tournament, and that’s what we’re getting out of it.”

The Hoosier Invitational served as the season opener for the fall semester, which consists of several more tournaments and invitationals. The Hoosiers went into the weekend with only two official practices under their belt, adding to their optimism.

“I don’t think it could be a better start than we’ve had,” Bloemendaal said. “This is as good a start as we could have it for this early in the season.”