IU falls to No. 1 Ohio State

The No. 58 IU men’s tennis team as  tested Monday when it welcomed the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes to Bloomington. The Hoosiers battled the Buckeyes early, but the depth of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Champions was too much and IU lost 5-2.

Things started off well for IU (7-6), which won the doubles point to grab an early 1-0 lead against one of the best doubles teams in the country.

Despite appearing to have momentum after the doubles matches, the Hoosiers won just one out of six first sets.

The team won just one singles match.

“I think we had our opportunities and they came up big,” IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “When we shifted momentum on the court they stayed in there and played big against us.”

The Hoosiers have not been without opportunities this year.

This marks the third time the Hoosiers have held a lead against a higher ranked opponent at home. IU lost previously to No. 27 NC State 4-3 and 4-2 to No. 18 Vanderbilt.

“I know that we’re doing the right things and our team is getting much closer,” sophomore Daniel Bednarczyk said.

“We’re going to break through very soon, that’s what I know.”

Bednarczyk was the lone Hoosier to win a singles match Monday. This continues a run of good tennis for the Canadian at the No. 4 position in the lineup, Bloemendaal said.

“His tennis has been good for the last month,” Bloemendaal said.

“He just has to continue to get the confidence rolling. It’s not easy to be the guy that leads the way and he did that.”

Junior Sven Lalic again dropped another close match against the Buckeyes. While Lalic’s win-loss record sits at 2-7, nearly all of his losses have come in tight matches against good opponents, Bloemendaal said.

“He’s played everybody tight,” Bloemendaal said. “He just hasn’t been able to come through yet.”

Even though the Hoosiers were unable to give the Buckeyes their first loss of the season, the loss contains some positive elements, the coach said.

Bloemendaal said he believes it is only a matter of time until the young members of the team learn how to win in these situations, much like the experienced Buckeyes managed to.

“I think I’ve known for a while that our guys are good enough to be in these situations and the more we’re in them the better we’ll get,” he said.

“We’re showing some good things.”

Bednarczyk echoed his coach’s thoughts, saying if his teammates keep up the hard work the wins will start coming and coming in bunches.

The next opportunity for a breakthrough is soon, as the Hoosiers play host to No. 52 Dartmouth this Sunday.

Bloemendaal said he has seen improvement in his team and hopes its progress will continue as the season goes on.

“I think we are taking steps and continually improving,” Bloemendaal said. “We are putting ourselves in position against some really good teams and we are  competing well with them.”