Men's tennis splits matches

IU (2-3) split its doubleheader on Friday, losing to No. 35 North Carolina State 4-3, and defeating unranked Eastern Kentucky 7-0.

The Hoosiers started action off well, taking the doubles point against NC State, marking the first time that NC State has lost a doubles point all season.

“That’s a really good doubles team, and we looked good,” IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “When we got the lead, we put it to them.”

The Hoosiers could not parlay this doubles victory into success in singles, as the Hoosiers won just one out of six first sets in singles.

“We were really average carrying leads,” Bloemendaal said. “Once you learn how to do that that’s when you start winning a lot of matches.”

Sophomore Samuel Monette was the one player for IU who consistently played well.

Monette won his match on No. 2 singles in straight sets. The Hoosiers went on to lose four singles matches in a row after that, clinching a victory for the Wolfpack.

Another bright spot from the match was the play of the No. 1 doubles team, senior Dimitrije Tasic and junior Sven Lalic. The upperclassmen duo had struggled in doubles all year before defeating one of the top doubles teams in the country on Friday.

Bloemendaal said he is hopeful that this new-found success in doubles will translate to success in singles play, where both players have struggled.

Lalic came close to reversing his fortune in his match. Although he lost in straight sets, it took two tightly contested tiebreaks for that to happen. Bloemendaal blamed a unique factor for his junior’s loss.

“In tennis, most of the time you do need to think, and that scoring system rewards the guys who just bust balls especially indoors,” Bloemendaal said. “I thought Sven was a little bit of a victim to that, I have to be honest with you.”

Bloemendaal said the scoring system “wreaks” concerning how it teaches players to deal with pressure. Bloemendaal claims that the new system does nor reward the better player, making it easier for lesser player to win.

The nightcap saw a much different Hoosier team, one that did not drop a set to Eastern Kentucky.

“That EKU team is coming off a huge win against Xavier who won their conference,” Bloemendaal said. “We made them look like bottom of the barrel.”

The latter match also saw a lineup change for the Hoosiers with the insertion of freshman Matthew McCoy.

Bloemendaal said he thinks very highly of the Bloomington native’s potential in the IU program.

“I think McCoy’s going to win a lot of matches,” Bloemendaal said. “I just have this sneaky suspicion that once he does what he needs to do, and gets his teeth into this whole thing that he’s going to win a lot of matches.”

Bloemendaal praised the freshman’s work ethic and willingness to improve.

 “He’s a gritty player, he gets a lot of balls, very coachable,” Bloemendaal said. From where he was this summer to where he’s at now it’s like night and day. I think once he gets his feet under him he’s going to be good.”

The Hoosiers will next travel to Oklahoma to play the No. 8 Sooners on Sunday.

Follow reporter Michael Hughes on Twitter @MichaelHughes94