Team members 'ready to break through'

The IU men’s tennis team loves to play at home.

Maybe it’s the comfort of playing in Bloomington. Perhaps it’s the routine of practicing in the Tennis Center every day.

Whatever “it” is, it’s working.

During Randy Bloemendaal’s first two years as head coach, the Hoosiers have a 20-9 team record at home. During that time, they have won only 11 of their 26 road matches.

IU hopes to continue the trend this weekend when it plays host to the Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship, which begins today.  

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to play this tournament on our campus because we play so well at home,” Bloemendaal said. “We get to have the best competition in the country come to our tournament and play us on our courts. It’s a big opportunity for us to get to the next level.”  

IU has played only one tournament at home this fall, the Hoosier Invitational, and two players took singles titles – junior Santiago Gruter and freshman Josh MacTaggart.

The Hoosiers will have to be on top of their games if they hope to repeat those results this weekend.

The best players from schools such as Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Purdue will be in town for the ITA event. A win in the regional could guarantee a player a berth in the National Indoor Tournament next month.

Freshman Isade Juneau played his way into the event by means of his finish at the Louisville Winter Tournament last weekend. He said he is excited about what this tournament could do for the rest of his initial collegiate season.

“Last weekend was  great competition because we knew that two players from that would get to play in the ITA,” said the Quebec, Canada, native. “I came up big. Now the ITA will help me put pressure on the coach to put me higher in the lineup.”

Gruter and fellow junior Lachlan Ferguson, along with sophomores Maxime Armengaud, Jeremy Langer and Will Kendall and freshmen MacTaggart and Alex van Gils, will join Juneau in the tournament.

Bloemendaal said he hopes his team can use the regional to prove it belongs in the national picture.

“I have been talking to them about that all semester. It’s time,” he said. “We have a couple of guys that look like they are ready to break through. You can’t always just show up to a match and expect to come out on top, but I think the odds are in our favor for someone to break through this weekend.”