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Men’s Tennis

IU breaks losing streak, defeats Georgia State

Like other sports, tennis matches are categorized by three phrases: a blowout, a huge win or a tight loss.

At home for the first time in three weeks, the No. 57 Hoosiers suffered a tight loss when they split a double-header.

Starting off the morning against No. 73 Nebraska, IU lost 4-3. Sophomore Lachlan Ferguson and freshman Stephen Vogl won 8-5 for the doubles point win.

After freshman Maxime Armengaud sailed through his singles match with a straight sets win, the rest of his teammates faced more of a challenge.

Freshman Guy Kubi and sophomore Santiago Gruter both lost in straight sets.
Ferguson and freshman Will Kendall both brawled through three-set heartbreakers, leaving the only other win of the morning a three-set matchup from freshman Jeremy Langer.

“After the tough loss in the morning, (IU) coach (Randy Bloemendaal) told us we needed to come out strong in the next match and come out with a lot of energy,” Langer said.

With strong shots and more energy, the Hoosiers silenced Georgia State, winning all nine matches. With fist pumps and “Let’s go!” ringing through the IU Tennis Center, the doubles teams gave up only a combined eight games.

IU then swept the Panthers in straight sets in singles play. The freshman four of Kubi, Kendall, Langer and Armengaud gave up a total of 13 games in their wins, solidifying the W.

Georgia State’s Nejc Podkrajsek was assessed two violations on match point in Ferguson’s match for using foul language and throwing a water bottle.

The penalties transferred to Gruter, giving him a cushion and an edge for the win. Gruter and Ferguson both won their second sets 7-5.

– By Stephanie Kuzydym

Track and Field

Success hard to find in IU’s 1st road event

The road proved less friendly than home for the Hoosiers as their competition got much tougher this weekend.

After four straight home meets opened the season, IU headed to South Bend for the Meyo Invitational.

Senior Jeff Coover picked up IU’s only win, in pole vault.

IU did find success in other ways, however, as the team posted 11 top-five spots and five provisional marks during the weekend.

The provisional marks came from senior Molly Beckwith in the 800-meter run when she improved her school record time to 205.55.

Also posting provisional marks were Coover, sophomore De’Sean Turner in the men’s 800-meter run, junior Vera Neuenswander in the women’s pole vault and senior Wendi Robinson in the distance medley.

– By Ari Shifron

Women’s Tennis

No. 30 Hoosiers drop 1st match of season 

IU entered the season with six straight wins but could not maintain its perfect record. The No. 30 Hoosiers dropped their first match of the season after being swept by No. 9 Duke 7-0 Friday.

Winning only four games, the Hoosiers (7-1) quickly dropped the doubles point. The closest match came from senior Alba Berdala and sophomore Katya Zapadalova, who lost 8-3 to the No. 20 doubles team in the country.

With three Duke players ranked in the top 60 nationally, IU was swept down the singles lineup. Both senior Sigrid Fischer and junior Lindsey Stuckey fought through tough matches with close second sets.

Dropping the first set 6-2, Fischer fought back in the second set but could not pull away. Fischer lost the second set 7-5.

Stuckey, too, lost the first set 6-2, and she dropped the second set in a tie-breaker.
Saturday’s matchup against No. 53 Princeton showed the Hoosiers’ ability to rebound.
IU walked away with a 4-3 win.

The Hoosiers started off Saturday stronger by winning the doubles point. Intensity increased in singles play where IU dropped two three-set matches. Martin lost to Lauren McHale, ranked No. 74 in the country, in the third set 6-3 while Stuckey was defeated in the third set 6-4.

The Hoosiers were able to walk away with the three singles wins they needed as Berdala, Fischer and freshman Megan Matter triumphed with straight-set wins.

– By Stephanie Kuzydym

Water Polo

No. 18 Hoosiers fall against top competition

The IU water polo team (1-7) struggled Saturday and Sunday at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., losing to some of the top teams in the country.

On Saturday, the No. 18 Hoosiers lost to No. 2 Stanford 11-2 and No. 7 Arizona State 10-9 in two overtimes.

“It was a hard-fought game against a high-quality opponent,” IU coach Barry King said in a press release after the Arizona State game. “I thought we improved offensively, but we have to eliminate some of our mental mistakes.”

On Sunday, IU played No. 1 USC and lost 13-5.

Sophomore Amy Moore tied an IU record by scoring six goals against Arizona State, the first player to do so since Krista Peterson in 2003.

Moore didn’t take too much credit for tying the record.

“I couldn’t have done it without good, crisp passes from my teammates,” Moore said. “I guess I did OK.”

– By Andrew Wyder

Softball

IU begins season 0-4 in California

Starting off the weekend 0-3 going into Sunday’s game against Cal State Fullerton, one might suspect IU softball coach Michelle Gardner to be full of negativity.

Looking back on her team’s weekend tournament at UCLA Gardner said she was quite the opposite. IU returned home 0-4.

“We’ve played pretty clean defense, and we’ve been able to get a lot of runners on base,” Gardner said.

Runners on base were the pro and the con for the Hoosiers all weekend. Every time the Hoosiers threatened, they struggled to deliver key hits to start a rally.

“We need clutch hits with runners in scoring position,” Gardner said. “I’ve been trying to get the right combination together.”

Gardner switched senior shortstop Emily Bergeson out of the cleanup spot and into the leadoff role because of her fast start.

“(Bergeson) has played solid defense for us, and offensively she’s a threat every time she steps up to the plate,” Gardner said.

The first-year coach said she knows that to be successful down the road, her team will have to learn something from every game.

“We’re going to be rebuilding, and in order to rebuild, we have to play teams like this,” Gardner said.

– By Connor O’Gara

Wrestling

In-state rivalry lives up to hype

IU coach Duane Goldman’s prediction that every match between No. 18 IU and No. 25 Purdue would be a swing match proved true Friday night at the University Gym in Bloomington.

An opening pin by defending national champion Angel Escobedo in the 125-pound class and a comeback win by Matt Powless in the final second of the 197-pound bout led the Hoosiers (14-4-1) to a 21-12 victory against in-state rival Purdue (11-3-1)
Goldman said the win against the Boilers was crucial after dropping two of the first three conference contests.

“It’s just good to get a win, and it’s especially nice since it was Purdue,” Goldman said. “We have some stiff tests ahead, but it would be great to see us continue to be consistent.”

With IU starting out on a 6-0 lead, Purdue came back on a 12-9 run. IU narrowed the gap to 15-12 heading into Powless’ match.

Down by a single point, Powless took down No. 13 Logan Brown with fewer than five seconds to go.

“I knew if I could hang with him for two periods, he would get tired and it could come down to the third,” Powless said.

– By Frank Therber