IU competes in UCF Invitational

The Hoosiers began their spring season in Orlando, Fla., this weekend at the UCF Invitational.

While the invitational does not technically keep track of team scores, the head-to-head environment will prepare the Hoosiers for what they may see in Big Ten play.

IU entered the tournament ranked No. 56 in the debut edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 2014 rankings.

The Hoosiers took on two teams ranked better than themselves, a first for the 2013-2014 season.

This invitational will serve largely as an introduction to dual play, a format which the Hoosiers did not experience in the fall season.

During the fall season, the Hoosiers mainly participated in singles tournaments.

While in Orlando, they competed in their first team-oriented competition.

“This tournament was the best possible way to prepare for the season,” IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said.

The Hoosiers struggled the first two days, losing most of the matches they played against TCU, Louisville and Rice.

Come Sunday, however, things changed for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers went on to win 14 straight matches against the Citadel.

Bloemendaal attributed this disparity to the Hoosiers’ late arrival in Orlando.

A flight delay forced the Hoosiers to arrive several days late and kept them from feeling comfortable all weekend, Bloemendaal said.

The Hoosiers will be one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten.

They feature just one senior, Dimitrije Tasic, who failed to win a match all weekend in both singles and doubles play.

“The youth of this team is going to be our biggest adversity,” Bloemendaal said. “This year we’re going to have to have some guys step up.”

Sophomore Elliot Yee is one player who could step up for the Hoosiers.

“I thought I played really strong and really competitive,” Yee said. “I came out on the bottom end earlier in the weekend, but as the weekend progressed I started playing a lot better.”

Because of personal reasons, some of the Hoosiers’ top players could not make the trip to Orlando.

Yee said even though the competition was tougher than he has faced before, he was still very competitive.

This invitational will prepare the Hoosiers for dual matches later in the season.

“We have a long way to go in establishing a culture and an atmosphere that we want on this team,” sophomore Michael Sellitto said. “Overall, I think we made good headway in establishing the kind of atmosphere that we want on this team.”

Follow men’s tennis reporter Michael Hughes on Twitter at @MichaelHughes94.