IU coaches, teammates and fans do not need to watch senior Matthew McCoy to know how he is doing in his matches.
His intense and vocal personality on the court and loud celebrations after winning points, games or matches have become a normal part of any IU men's tennis match.
“Matt on match day brings really another level of competitiveness,” IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “In the sport of tennis finding guys like Matt who are competitive as he is and want to win every single point, they are far and few.”
IU will have a hard time replacing the intensity of McCoy, a Bloomington native, next season when he is gone. For now, McCoy is looking back at his accomplishments as a Hoosier and seeking to end his last season on a high note with the team making it to the NCAA tournament.
During his freshman year at IU, McCoy proved he was a player the Hoosiers could count on in pressure situations. He clinched the crucial point for IU in the first round of the 2014 Big Ten Tournament against Minnesota in three sets.
“The Minnesota win — that was actually the biggest confidence boost that really got me in the lineup,” McCoy said. “It proved to my team and then also myself that I could play in the Big Ten with these guys because I did not come in at that level.”
In his first two seasons he totaled 27 singles victories and also led the team academically by becoming an All-Big Ten academic honoree in his sophomore year.
Last season McCoy tied in second place for most singles victories on the team with 19, including 11 in tournament play. He even reached the semifinals at the Big Ten Singles/Doubles Championships after upsetting the No. 1 seeded player of the tournament, Dusty Boyer of Nebraska, in straight sets.
McCoy is 12-8 overall this season and has become a common face on Wurtzman’s singles lineup, and he usually plays at position four.
However, lately, and in IU’s last matchup against rival Purdue, he has played as No. 3 and won in two sets to help get the Hoosiers closer to their season goal. IU coaches and players have made it clear they want to reach the NCAA Tournament, and with a No. 34 ranking currently, IU is in good position.
“It is absolutely amazing,” McCoy said. “We have been really close in the past. I see us finishing the season really strong and only moving up from here.”
McCoy said he is thankful to his parents for their investment to help him become a better player and said without them he would have never been able to play college tennis at IU.
He said he appreciates his current coaches, Wurtzman and assistant coach Mike Murray, but also his former coach Ken Hydinger of Bloomington High School North and IU Tennis Center head professional Mike O’Connell for developing his game in the past four years.
McCoy and the Hoosiers will be traveling to California on Sunday for their spring break tour, where he not only hopes to get outdoor practice but also start the epilogue of his time as a Hoosier on a high note.
“What I am most focused on right now is our team doing well,” McCoy said. “Obviously I want to win my individual matches. I am going to try to be that consistent rock.”
