IU men’s tennis did not lose focus after coming up short in the doubles matchups against Louisville on Wednesday.
Although the Cardinals became the first team to beat the Hoosiers in doubles play this season, IU picked up the intensity in singles play to come back and keep its undefeated record alive.
In a matchup with several controversial calls that left IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman upset, the Hoosiers beat the Cardinals, 4-1, at the IU Tennis Center for their seventh win in a row this season.
“The guys recovered their groove quickly and did a great job getting leads early on the sets,” Wurtzman said. “Early on the first set we were up on most courts, and then the doubles point became a non-factor. It was great how we responded.”
The Cardinals began the match in better shape than the Hoosiers. In doubles play, the visiting team was loud and boisterous when celebrating their points.
The strength of Louisville’s doubles play was hard for IU to overcome, and it fell short at position one by a final score of 6-3 and at position two by a score of 7-6.
The freshman duo composed of Bennett Crane and Zac Brodney at No. 3 doubles won its matchup, 6-3, but the damage had been done, and the win was not enough to secure the doubles point.
When the singles play came, the Hoosiers did not let the doubles loss keep them from capitalizing in their individual matches.
Senior Matthew McCoy, with consistency and patience, tied the match for IU at 1-1 after winning his match at position four in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Wurtzman said McCoy’s win restored confidence for the team,
“Matt has been a big spot for us the last three years I have been here,” Wurtzman said. “It is great for him to play the way he did, have the energy that he had. I was on the other side of the Tennis Center, but I could hear him on my side, which is what we are used to from Matt.”
Following McCoy, Crane capitalized at position six to win in two sets. Current Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week junior Raheel Manji had a notable performance once again and won his match to extend the Hoosier lead to 3-1.
To secure IU’s seventh win in a row, sophomore Antonio Cembellin came out on top, 7-6, 6-3.
“I was not sure how exactly we were going to respond after not losing any doubles points this season yet,” Wurtzman said. “But they proved me wrong and they did a great job.”
Up next for IU is its first ranked opponent and Big Ten opener this Friday. IU will go on the road to play No.17 Illinois.
“I think we need to stay focused on what we are doing,” junior Keivon Tabrizi said. “Practice hard and make good decisions on and off the court, and recover well and keep our bodies ready because it is a long season.”
