IU men’s tennis will compete against No. 14 Michigan and Michigan State this weekend. The team plays Michigan at noon Saturday and Michigan State at noon Sunday.
This is the first time IU will play on its home courts in 364 days. The last time the Hoosiers played in the IU Tennis Center was Feb. 29, 2020, in a win against No. 25 Dartmouth.
“It’s exciting to get back and play at home, we absolutely can’t wait,” head coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “We really cherish these matches when we get to play teams in our own building.”
Related: [IU men’s tennis falls to Iowa, dominates against Nebraska]
IU will come into Saturday’s meeting with Michigan looking to end a five-match losing streak, with its last win coming in 2015.
“Michigan is one of the best teams in the country,” Wurtzman said. “They play very good indoor tennis, and they’re a very spirited group. We’ve been focusing in on that match since Nebraska and we’re looking forward to the challenge of getting to play them at home.”
Following Saturday’s matchup, IU will compete against Michigan State on Sunday. The Hoosiers will attempt to continue a six-match winning streak against the Spartans.
“Michigan State just had a good win against Minnesota last weekend, one of the best teams in the conference,” Wurtzman said. “Win or lose Sunday, we’re going to have to be ready to go Sunday and expect their best.”
Wurtzman highlighted the skilled freshmen class the team has this year, which includes Nishanth Basavareddy, Michael Andre, Jagger Saylor and Ilya Tiraspolsky.
“The freshmen came up big over this past weekend,” Wurtzman said. “We look forward to watching them play more and just getting more experience. I think they’ve got a lot of skill, a lot of talent, and now it’s just about getting them more experience in this environment.”
Although COVID-19 brought the Hoosiers’ 2019-20 season to an abrupt halt, the day has come when the team can once again return to their home court.
“The good thing is that we’re very comfortable playing in our own building,” Wurtzman said. “We’ve had some great wins in the tennis center and so we’re looking forward to playing Michigan and Michigan State this weekend inside.”
