Men's tennis wins 10th-straight at Minn.

The IU men’s tennis team remained undefeated in conference play by getting a pair of 4-3 road wins this weekend against No. 20 Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The No. 27 Hoosiers (20-4, 7-0) opened conference play with a five-game home winning streak and carried that momentum to the road in Friday’s win against the Gophers. The loss to IU was Minnesota’s first Big Ten loss.

IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said the fact that the Minnesota match was played outside benefited the Hoosiers.

“With Minnesota we caught a little break,” Bloemendaal said. “We actually came out a little tight, but we got to play on the outdoor court. With most Big Ten teams, it’s a little more natural to play on the indoor court, so there’s more of a home-court advantage there.”

Against the Gophers, IU picked up an 8-2 doubles win from junior Jeremy Langer and senior Santiago Gruter, the nation’s No. 50 doubles duo. IU lost the other two doubles matches, however, giving Minnesota the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead.

IU sophomore Josh MacTaggart and junior Stephen Vogl each notched quick, straight-set singles wins to put the Hoosiers up 2-1. Gruter then fell at No. 2 singles, Langer defeated Minnesota sophomore Rok Bonin 6-4, 7-5 at No.1 and IU freshman Claes Goransson lost a three-setter, evening the team score at 3-3.

That left it up to sophomore Isade Juneau to clinch the victory for IU. Juneau did so in convincing fashion, closing out Minnesota’s Julian Dehn 7-6, 3-6, 6-1.

Bloemendaal said the Hoosiers needed a strong, collective effort to knock off the Gophers on the road.

“You have to overcome more on the road than you do at home,” Bloemendaal said. “You make more mental mistakes, and you don’t have the crowd to pick you up like you do at home. It’s tougher, but if the guys stay together, it works.”

Langer had contributed to IU’s previous upsets against No. 15 Illinois and No. 23 Michigan with doubles wins but hadn’t won in singles. Bloemendaal said it was important for his No. 1 player to score a point for the team in one of these tight matches.

“It’s big,” Bloemendaal said. “I think if you can win at the top spot, it definitely helps the rest of the team. He played really well. I think it gave him a good boost.”

Against Wisconsin on Sunday, IU again lost the doubles point but bounced back to take four of six singles matches for the victory. Vogl, Juneau and MacTaggart all won in straight sets, and Gruter scored the clinching point with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory at No. 2.