Tennis wins first match in tournament

Only 25 days ago, Minnesota defeated IU 4-3 in Bloomington.

Thursday in the Big Ten tournament, No. 67 IU reversed its fortunes by defeating No. 55 Minnesota 4-3.

“It was back and forth all day,” IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “The question was who was going to catch the momentum.”

Junior Sven Lalic entered Thursday’s match without a Big Ten win this season. Lalic won the No. 2 singles match, 6-4, 6-2.

“He was really tough out there and kind of what we’ve been expecting all year long came together,” Bloemendaal said. “You’ve seen glimpses before but this was a complete effort. He had great energy, he had great heart and played really tough out there in the tough moment.”

Freshman Matthew McCoy entered Thursday’s match with just one match of Big Ten experience. The Bloomington native won 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 at No. 6 singles to clinch the match for IU.

“It was great to see a freshman step up and really get gritty,” Bloemendaal said. “He was down a break in the third set and came back and won it. It really looked like Hoosier tennis there where he just grinded it out.”

Bloemendaal said he saw his team grow up on the court today, especially McCoy.

“If he is able to digest this and move forward it’s like six months of practice,” he said. “He should really take off at this point.”

IU also picked up a point at No. 4 singles, where IU’s lone senior Dimitrije Tasic won 6-3, 6-3.

Tasic also served a large role in IU’s doubles point victory.

Entering the tournament Bloemendaal said winning the doubles point would be crucial for his team’s success.

With wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, IU won the doubles point, unlike the last time the two teams played.

“Minnesota jumped on us again in doubles like they did when we were at home,” Bloemendaal said. “No. 2 doubles was a rock all day, I think that was the best they’ve played all year long.”

The No. 2 doubles team of Lalic and Tasic won 8-3, and were in control for the duration of the match.

The No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Daniel Bednarczyk and Samuel Monette did not follow the same path. The Canadians were down a break early, needing to win to give IU a 1-0 lead. The duo eventually won 8-7.

“I thought Sam did some good things, they both did some good things actually,” Bloemendaal said. “Sam did a lot of good things but Dan did a lot of good stuff to get them into that position in the breaker.”

Thursday afternoon, Monette was recognized as a Second Team All-Big Ten athlete for men’s tennis by the conference. He finished the regular season 20-10 in singles, splitting time at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions.

IU will now play No. 11 Illinois in the second round. Earlier this season, Illinois defeated IU 7-0 in Bloomington.

Bloemendaal said he is not intimidated by the teams’ last meeting nor Illinois’ rankings. He said the seniorless team is “very beatable.”

In order for IU to beat Illinois, the Hoosiers will need to maintain the momentum and confidence that they gained against Minnesota, he said.

“We got to keep it rolling because it’s a tournament,” Bloemendaal said. “We got to wake up tomorrow and be ready to go.”?