Indiana advances past Iowa into quarterfinals

The IU men’s tennis team opened the Big Ten Tournament at Northwestern on Thursday with a businesslike 4-0 victory against 12-seeded Iowa.

The outcome was never in doubt for the fifth-seeded and overall No. 27 Hoosiers (22-8, 8-4), who captured the encounter’s doubles point and first three singles matches to seal their second win against the Hawkeyes (1-22, 0-12) this season as well as a spot in today’s quarterfinals against No. 36 Minnesota (13-6, 8-3).

Just as it had in this month’s earlier matchup between the two squads, IU triumphed in two of three doubles encounters — this time at No. 1 and No. 3 — to claim a 1-0 lead and the upper hand heading into singles play.

Seniors Will Kendall and Stephen Vogl, for whom this weekend represents a final hurrah in the conference tournament, started the Hoosiers strong by combining to defeat Tom Mroziewicz and Will Vasos 8-3 at No. 3 singles.

After, fellow senior Jeremy Langer and his Canadian compatriot Isade Juneau followed suit with an 8-5 dismissal of the Hawkeyes’ top duo, Garret Dunn and
Michael Swank.

In the day’s only setback for the cream and crimson, the Hoosiers’ No. 2 duo, Josh MacTaggart and Alastair Barnes, fell 8-5 to the Hawkeyes’ second-seeded tandem, Matt Hagan and Jonas Dierckx.

The Brits’ blemish was concealed on the scoreboard, though, by successful outings by the other two IU doubles teams that ultimately preserved the shutout.

A trio of singles wins, two of them courtesy of Juneau and MacTaggart, who were named First Team All-Big Ten earlier this week, propelled the Hoosiers to an unassailable four-point lead.

Vogl settled the affair with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Dunn at No. 4 after Juneau overwhelmed Matt Hagan 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1. MacTaggart, whose recent spoils also include Big Ten Player of the Week and a national No. 79 ranking, continued his winning form at No. 2.   

In a result indicative of the strides MacTaggart has made since the two squads met two and a half weeks ago in Iowa City, Iowa, the Hoosier netter and U.K. native recorded a straightforward 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Will Vasos; their previous battle had produced the opposite result, a 6-4, 6-1 Vasos victory.

In Thursday’s reversal of fortune, MacTaggart registered his 34th win of the season in singles action and moved into a tie for the IU single-season record.

Should he prevail in tomorrow’s matchup at the No. 2 slot, which will likely pit him against Minnesota’s Leandro Toledo for the second time in a fortnight, the junior will become the sole proprietor of the school mark. The history between the two bodes well for MacTaggart, who vanquished then-No. 78 Toledo 6-3, 6-4 in Bloomington on April 14.

After Vogl clinched the decisive point, the three other matches were called off, remaining undecided, as is customary in the tournament.

At the time, Langer was knotted with Dierckx 6-6 in the first set. Kendall, who led Mroziewicz 7-6 (7-0), 5-0, was poised to extend IU’s advantage, and Tasic was on the verge of leveling his 4-6, 5-2 bout with Chase Tomlins at one set apiece.

Friday’s 10:30 a.m.  match will see the Hoosiers against Minnesota, the perpetrators of one of the Hoosiers’ most difficult memories of the season, a 4-3 comeback win for the Gophers at IU Tennis Center.

IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said that while revenge will not necessarily be the most salient of motivating factors for his players, the pain of that defeat — the last one experienced by the Hoosiers — still lingers.

“That one stung a little bit, which doesn’t hurt with the prep,” Bloemendaal said.

Having finished fifth in Big Ten standings, IU heads the group of squads who failed to earn a first-round bye and thus must win four matches in four days to be crowned champion Sunday.

Now that the first opponent is in the Hoosiers’ rearview mirror, conditioning, which Bloemendaal has repeatedly heralded as a hallmark of the team, assumes a greater role going forward.

“The plan that goes into each match is a little bit different, but I think the doubleheaders we’ve played earlier in the year will help us a lot,” Bloemendaal said.

IU has played seven doubleheaders this spring, six of them at home, and has a 13-1 record in those matches. The solitary loss, a 6-1 setback, came at home against
Ohio State.