Road trip to Lexington, Ky., gives team a chance to avenge past losses

Little more than a month ago in Assembly Hall, Will Kendall and Josh MacTaggart were among the nearly 20,000 highly partisan, crimson-clad spectators who witnessed and celebrated Christian Watford’s swish, one of the most memorable moments in the history of the Indiana-Kentucky rivalry.

Now, Kendall, MacTaggart and the rest of the IU men’s tennis team seek to write a chapter of their own in the battle between the schools.

At 1 p.m. today, the No. 29 Hoosiers will travel to Lexington, Ky., to challenge the No. 7 Wildcats coming off a pair of 7-0 victories this weekend against Western Michigan and Toledo. Kentucky edged Indiana, 4-3, in Bloomington last year in a match MacTaggart said they could just as easily have won.

Playing at No. 2 singles, MacTaggart defeated then-No. 39 Alex Musialek in three sets. In the only other IU singles victory, Stephen Vogl defeated then-No. 72 Alberto Gonzalez in straight sets, but Kentucky ultimately triumphed after Wildcat Anthony Rossi prevailed in a tense tiebreaker against current top-Hoosier Isade Juneau.

For Kendall and two fellow seniors, today’s match represents the last chance to defeat Kentucky, having also dropped a 6-1 affair to the Wildcats in their freshman year. The Short Hills, N.J., native said the bitter taste of last year’s defeat still lingers — and he and many members of the team are reveling in the opportunity to exact revenge.

“We don’t really get along with (the Kentucky players), to put it lightly,” Kendall said. “We’d love to go in there and kick their ass on their home courts.”

Vogl cautioned against getting overly caught up in the pre-match excitement.

“We always take it one match at a time, and this next match is the most important we have,” Vogl said. “We can’t overlook anything, but this would be a huge win,
for sure.”

MacTaggart said he thought his opponent, Musialek, was “all right,” also emphasized the potential magnitude of a victory.

“It’s a great chance,” MacTaggart said. “You need to get one good win under your belt. A win would give us loads of momentum going into next week’s ITA kickoff against Notre Dame, and maybe Ohio State, if we win that match.”

Juneau, said he also understands the importance of today’s match in the context of this week and the season.

“If we can beat Kentucky, Ohio State’s going to think we can beat them, too,” Juneau said.