Hoosiers sweep weekend against Iowa, Nebraska, in dramatic fashion

Throughout the spring campaign, junior Isade Juneau has shown flashes of brilliance. In late January, he led the nation’s fifth-ranked player by a set before the match was called off.

Two weeks ago, he repeatedly frustrated No. 35 Louisville’s top netter, Andrew Carter, with vicious serves and fierce forehands en route to a straight set win. Missing from his 2012 résumé, however, was an official victory against a ranked opponent — until now.

Juneau rallied from a dropped first set to defeat No. 79 Christopher Aumueller 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, and earn his first defeat of an ITA top 125 opponent — but more importantly, to register the pivotal point in a tense 4-3 Hoosier victory at Nebraska on Sunday that capped a weekend of road conference wins out West for IU.

“Isade stepped up and acted like the leader he is in winning the decisive point for us,” senior Will Kendall said. “We all had confidence he would pull through for us. He’s fearless out there and always believes he will win.”

IU, who also eased to a 6-1 defeat of Iowa on Friday in Iowa City, Iowa, improves to 16-7 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. In Sunday’s much closer encounter in the Cornhusker State, the Hoosiers reaped the reward of both Juneau’s resilience and Kendall’s personal redemption.

The contest in Lincoln, Neb., which took on added meaning as the two programs competed for the first time in a conference setting, provided the perfect backdrop for Kendall to avenge what he called “one of the most bitter memories of my career.”

When the Hoosiers and Huskers met three years ago in Bloomington, Kendall squandered a one-set lead at No. 5 singles and surrendered the decisive point in a 4-3 heartbreaker that went against the home side.

While Sunday’s inaugural Big Ten matchup of the two schools also saw Kendall assume the fifth singles position, the similarities between the two contests ended there.

This time, the senior and Short Hills, N.J., native utilized a tremendous experience advantage over his opponent, freshman Huskers netter Stefan Gollner, to dictate the outcome.

With a resounding 6-0, 6-1 victory, Kendall not only exorcised demons from his nascent days as a Hoosier, but he also boosted his team’s chances in a crucial road Big Ten clash.  

“Apart from myself, I wouldn’t say revenge was an incredibly motivating factor in our preparation,” Kendall said. “But for myself, losing that match as a freshman was for sure a factor. I was happy to turn it around in a tight 4-3 match where my point had an impact on the overall team score.”

The Hoosiers, who entered the contest deadlocked with Nebraska in the Big Ten standings, were also buoyed by senior Stephen Vogl’s dominating 6-1, 6-3 dismissal of Husker netter Andre Stenger.

Unlike both of last weekend’s outings, the Hoosiers set the tone for success early in each leg of their road trip westward, earning the all-important, momentum-swinging doubles point in both contests.

While in Iowa the pendulum swung heavily in the Hoosiers’ favor from the outset, as the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams both drubbed Hawkeye tandems by an 8-1 mark, the Huskers provided much sterner resistance to the cream and crimson’s quest for the initial tally.

Ultimately, though, the Hoosiers triumphed when Juneau and senior Jeremy Langer combined to edge the 19th-ranked tandem in the country, Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim, 9-8 (7-1), in a match that featured a frightening moment for the elder half of the top IU twosome.  

“Jeremy dove for a ball on our first match point and sprained his wrist, but he fought through it and was able to close it out for us,” Kendall said. “He showed a lot of guts and heart to fight as hard as he did in the tiebreak, considering the injury.”

Langer’s partner, Juneau, along with Vogl, also went undefeated in singles play, winning both of their matches at the one and four spots, respectively. For Juneau’s opening act to his impressive outing against the Huskers’ top dog, he outlasted the Hawkeyes’ Matt Hagan in the first set before seizing control in the second, ultimately prevailing 7-5, 6-1.

Vogl, whose transition to No. 4 has been a smooth one, saw off a challenge from Iowa’s Jonas Dierckx 6-3, 7-5, before capping a perfect weekend by defeating Stenger.

Junior Josh MacTaggart, the only Hoosier to record a pair of singles victories last weekend in Michigan, saw his rich vein of form run dry out West. Though he and junior Alastair Barnes trounced Iowa’s Hagan and Will Vasos 8-1 in doubles play, MacTaggart failed to capture a set in singles action at the No. 2 spot. Vasos bested him by a 6-4, 6-1 mark, while No. 95 Lindheim outlasted the Barnston, U.K., native, 6-4, 6-4.