Hoosiers set to square off against Louisville today

For IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal and No. 23 Indiana (14-4), motivation for success in today’s nonconference home wrangle with Louisville will be in ample supply.

The Cardinals, currently 12-8 and ranked No. 45 in the nation, have been a bogey squad for the Hoosiers under Bloemendaal, dominating the annual home and away series recently in taking the past four contests, including two razor-thin 4-3 victories in Bloomington.  

Also, barring a matchup in the NCAA Tournament in May, Wednesday’s tussle represents the last chance for seniors Will Kendall, Stephen Vogl and Jeremy Langer to record a victory against a team Vogl called the Hoosiers’ biggest rival.

Though much more than bragging rights will be on the line, Vogl said the match will test the seniors’ pride as he and his fellow classmates, who have a lengthy history with the Cardinals, look to avoid a clean sweep in the series.

“Our program has lost to this team four years in a row,” Vogl said. “I have friends on their team, and everyone knows everyone.

We’ve seen them for winter break, spring break — they’re like our brothers, and you don’t want to lose to your brother.”

However, any hint of a family atmosphere will certainly have been dampened by the departure of four Louisville seniors who graduated this past year.

In their place will be a completely overhauled Cardinals outfit that has recently regularly featured four freshmen in singles play.  

“They have kind of a different team than we’re accustomed to,” Kendall said. “They have a lot of freshmen that we’ve never seen before, which adds a unique aspect to the match. We played pretty much the same guys my first three years. This year, they’ve got a couple seniors, but beyond that there’ll be a lot of youngsters.”

Though Kendall added he was sure the neophytes would be fresh and hungry to spin another tale of triumph for the Cardinals, he said the Hoosiers are approaching the match with a different mindset than they’ve used thus far this season.

“We’re not trying to think about the end result and get too product-driven and results-driven with our preparation,” Kendall said. “We’ve had one day of practice to make sure that everyone is ready to battle all day long because against Ohio State, that just wasn’t the case. If everyone’s in it together, we’ll be fine.”

Kendall is part of a trio of senior leaders whose role Bloemendaal emphasized in responding to Sunday’s 6-1 home defeat to No. 2 Ohio State ahead of another attempt at besting Louisville.

“I think (the seniors) know it’s due, it’s time,” Bloemendaal said. “We’re playing on our home courts where we’ve been fairly successful, and we just have to get back up and get back to what we’re good at.”

Though the Hoosiers will be favored in the matchup, which concludes a four-match home stand, this past year’s trip south over the Ohio River sent them to a sound 6-1 setback.

Junior Isade Juneau was the lone point-getter for IU, emerging victorious in a three-set battle with Cardinal Robert Hall, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 4 singles spot.   

Earlier this month, the Cardinals stuttered during a string of four consecutive losses, all to teams then ranked between No. 23 and No. 35 in the country.

Since then, they have reversed the downward slide with home wins against Virginia Tech, Murray State and Morehead State.

Though the Hoosiers have the superior record so far, Wednesday’s adversaries already share two common opponents — and the results have been eerily similar. Both have been hosts to No. 2 Ohio State and fallen 6-1, earning the solitary point in singles play near the middle of the lineup (Louisville at No. 3, IU at No. 4).

Stranger still, each team has trekked westward to Norman, Okla., only to be trounced by the Sooners — again by an identical 6-1 score line.

Regardless of the outcome of what appears on paper to be a fair fight, the Cardinals will be the last team to venture into Monroe County for an on-court clash with the Hoosiers until April 13.

In the next two and a half weeks, the Hoosiers will embark on two separate road trips, first touring the Great Lake state for contests against Michigan and Michigan State, then heading west to take on Iowa and Nebraska.