Men’s tennis to compete at home

The IU men’s tennis team (1-2) will play competitive matches in Bloomington for the first time this season.

No. 57 IU returns home to face No. 35 North Carolina State (3-1) and unranked Eastern Kentucky (1-2) Friday.

IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal acknowledged the challenge that this match poses for his young team, especially against the Wolfpack.

“They’re going to be tough. They’re well coached, and I have a lot of respect for their program,” Coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “They play well from top to bottom, and they are going to play really solid doubles against us.”

The Wolfpack have four singles players ranked in the top 100 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. In comparison, the Hoosiers have just one, junior Sven Lalic.

Also, Bloemendaal has emphasized all season the importance of winning the doubles point. This may be difficult on Friday as the Wolfpack have yet to lose that point all season.

“They’re going to be confident, a little more confident than what we are at this point,” Bloemendaal said. “I don’t think that they’re better, but I think that they’re going to be more confident.”

Bloemendaal is still optimistic about his team’s chances in doubles despite the talent on the other side of the net.

“We’re very young all the way around,” Bloemendaal said. “I think that eventually this team will define itself as a good doubles team. I see it here and there in practice, but it hasn’t quite come out yet.”

Last year, IU lost 4-3 at NC State, a result the Hoosiers are hoping to change this year.

“It was a close loss,” sophomore Daniel Bednarczyk said. “I know that everyone who was part of that wants to get revenge, and I can guarantee that everyone is working their ass off to prepare for this weekend.”

Bloemendaal also recognized that those who were involved in that match last year need to lead the way — not just in this match, but all year.

In particular is IU’s lone senior Dimitrije Tasic.

“I think Dima will be somebody who is going to help lead the way all year long,” Bloemendaal said. “I think that in this program, our seniors always play extremely well every year. I’m expecting him to have his best year. He’s starting to show signs of that.”

Bloemendaal discussed the team’s trip to Charlottesville, Va., last week. While in Virginia, IU went 1-1, losing to the defending national champions and top team in the nation.

He emphasized that the team was not blown away by talent against Virginia, and it showed him how talented his team can be.

“We will not have mismatches as far as talent goes out there,” Bloemendaal said. “It’s really just learning from what we went through last weekend, and getting a clearer vision of what we’ve got to do on the court to contribute to the team.”

Bloemendaal praised Eastern Kentucky’s talent level, saying they might be as good as NC State.

“If you watch them warm up, you’ll notice that you don’t see a difference between them and NC State,” Bloemendaal said. “Actually, they’ll probably have a couple guys who hit the ball better.”

He said this match might be a gut check and a learning experience for his young team.

“In tennis, you have to learn how to allow people to lose the match,” he said. “One thing I tell the guys all the time is that the most important person on the court is the guy across the net. You want to think it’s you, but it’s really the guy across the net.”   

Bloemendaal said these matches will go a long way in defining who this team might be this year and how good they might be.

“This is really one of the measuring sticks,” he said. “We’ve moved forward this season, and I think that this is going to be a really big test for us. Physically, we’re as good as them — no doubt about it. The question is if we’re going to start defining ourselves as a contender.”