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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

sports tennis

IU to play Northwestern in top-30 matchup

IU is climbing in the national rankings.

The Hoosiers jumped from No. 36 in the ITA Tennis Rankings to No. 27. IU won both of its matches in Seattle and earned respect in the rankings this week. However, the Hoosiers remain focused on the task ?at hand.

“We focus in on the process of getting better each week and improving,” IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “We don’t focus too much on the rankings, especially at this time of ?the year.”

After cruising past Saint Mary’s, the Hoosiers faced a difficult opponent in then-No. 48 Washington. The Hoosiers trailed by two points and faced a loss, but they stormed back by winning three consecutive points to defeat the Huskies 4-3.

No. 27 IU plays No. 26 Northwestern at 2 p.m. Friday at the IU Tennis Center. Against an evenly matched opponent, IU (9-3) will look to continue its momentum at home. Though they have played two matches in a row in recent weeks, the Hoosiers play only one opponent this weekend. But they are not relieved.

“I don’t think it will matter,” Wurtzman said. “I don’t see it affecting us too much, especially at home when we’re not traveling.”

The Hoosiers have not played a home match since Feb. 6 when they beat Murray State and Oregon State. Though IU dominated Murray State 7-0, it had a tougher time against then No. 44 Oregon. In its last home match, IU defeated Oregon 4-2 in dramatic fashion thanks to heroics by junior Daniel Bednarczyk. The Hoosiers were up 3-0, but the Ducks stormed back 3-2. After Bednarczyk led 4-2, Oregon’s Daan Maasland cut the lead to one at 6-5. After an outstanding serve by Bednarczyk, Maasland returned the serve out of bounds to seal the victory for the Hoosiers.

They are 4-0 at home this season.

“After five matches on the road and a lot of different travel across different parts of the United States, it will be nice to be rested and to get to play against a top nationally ranked team,” Wurtzman said.

IU understands the advantage of playing on its home courts.

“I think first off you don’t have to travel,” Wurtzman said. “You’re sleeping in your own bed and very comfortable with everything that’s around you. We hope to get a lot of people out to the match, and that can definitely help when you have people behind you and cheering for you.”

Northwestern (8-5) defeated Middle Tennessee State 6-1 at home in its last match. Though the Wildcats are a highly ranked opponent, they have a 2-3 record on the road. Northwestern features two nationally ranked players, No. 93 Sam Shropshire and No. 116 Strong Kirchheimer, both of whom won their last matches against the Blue Raiders.

“Northwestern is one of the best teams in the country,” Wurtzman said, “They have played a lot of top nationally ranked teams very close. They play a tough schedule and will be very prepared for us.”

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