Monette, Bednarczyk open Canadian pipeline

When Daniel Bednarczyk and Sam Monette first met at 11 years old, they were rivals on the Canadian junior tennis circuit.

Almost a decade later and hundreds of miles away, the two sophomores have created a formidable doubles pairing for the IU men’s tennis team.

In Canada, the two players competed against each other more than a handful of times, Bednarczyk said, adding Monette holds the head-to-head advantage between the two.

Despite this early connection, the pair’s decision to attend IU together was a
coincidence.

“Danny took his recruiting trip a week before me, and we weren’t talking at this moment,” Monette said with a grin.

After taking his recruiting trip, Monette announced on Facebook he would be an Indiana Hoosier.

“Danny messaged me and said that he had just signed, too,” he said. “It was a complete surprise.”

Both players’ decisions to come to IU were rooted in their Canadian heritage.
Jeremy Langer, an IU alumnus and native of Canada, was the deciding factor in Bednarczyk’s choice to become a Hoosier.

Isade Juneau, a former member of both the IU men’s tennis team and alumnus of George-Vanier High School, Monette’s alma mater, convinced Monette to make the trip south.

Monette and Juneau were doubles partners last year before Monette and Bednarczyk joined.

Bednarczyk and Monette are not only working together on the court, but are also teaming up to keep the Canadian pipeline to IU flowing.

“We have two Canadians coming next year,” Monette said. “We are just trying to keep the pipeline going, and just try to get the best Canadians to come here.”

Since arriving at IU, the two have re-kindled their friendship and are now roommates. They both point to this friendship as a big part of their success on the court.

“We’re so close with each other, Sam and I,” Bednarczyk said. “We live together, and that also helps our relationship. We’ve traveled numerous times around the world together through juniors. It just helps so much on the court and you can see it just by looking at us.”

Monette said the chemistry between the two has the ability to propel them past the competition.

“We have the potential to not only be the best on the NCAA circuit but also as pros,” Monette said. “Travel around the world and do the (Association of Tennis Professionals) maybe after college. Me and Danny have both been there, we’ve both seen what the double level is and I think we’re really close.”

Despite their professional aspirations, contributing to the team’s success is still their primary goal.

“The most important thing is getting our team that doubles point,” Bednarczyk said. “No matter where or who we play in doubles, I know that Sam and I are capable of helping out the team get that doubles point. It can be such a big influence on the momentum in the match.”

Starting this year, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association has introduced a new experimental scoring format.

In this format, doubles matches have been shortened so a team needs to win only six games rather than the original eight to win the match.

Monette acknowledged the duo’s propensity for fast starts as a big advantage for them with the new format.

“When we play in doubles I think that we can be intimidating to the other team,” Monette said. “We usually have a solid start, so the fact that there is only six games this year, I think it’s an advantage for us. We usually have really fast starts, and like Coach says, we only need 10-15 minutes of great tennis to win.”

IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said when he watches the partners play, he cannot help but notice the high levels of intensity they bring.

“It’s just a really good relationship between the two of them, especially on the court,” Bloemendaal said. “When one’s not playing well the other picks him up and they just trust each other out there.”

This energy on the court is not lost on the two. Bednarczyk said all the positive energy comes naturally because of how close the two are.

“Positive emotions just come through a good relationship,” Bednarczyk said. “We both want to be in that big moment and want to take that shot at a specific time.”

Monette echoed Bednarczyk’s opinion that positivity is second nature for the pair.

“When we go on the court and play together, we’re just having fun,” Monette said. “It’s much easier to be positive because we have such a good relationship.”

The pair also tries to use that energy to fuel the rest of the team.

“We give energy to the rest of the team,” Bednarczyk said.

“It’s so important for No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to be able to look on our court and be able to believe that we’re going to get through our match, no matter if we’re down or up. Showing positive emotions, it gives belief within the team.”

Monette said he feels every player must take a leadership role on a young Hoosiers team.

“On match day, I think a lot of people look at what we do and we give a lot of energy,” Monette said.

“I think our job as leaders is to bring energy and try to make people around us positive.”