IU will face both Michigan and Michigan State this weekend for the second time this season. The Hoosiers, who are 4-6 on the season, will play the Wolverines at noon on Saturday and the Spartans at noon on Sunday.
The Hoosiers will head to the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to start the weekend.
IU played Michigan earlier this season, falling 2-5 at home on Feb. 27. In that match, the Hoosiers picked up a victory at No. 3 doubles from freshman Ilya Tiraspolsky and graduate student William Piekarsky, along with No. 2 and No. 6 singles victories from senior Andrew Redding and junior Patrick Fletchall.
Related: [https://www.idsnews.com/article/2021/03/iu-mens-tennis-michigan-michigan-state]
“We weren’t far off from sneaking out a win against Michigan at our courts,” head coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “It’s going to be a bit tougher playing them at their courts, but with our mindset of being together and being a team, we know that we can play with these guys and hang with them."
The Hoosiers are searching for their first win against the Wolverines since 2015 and look to end a six-match losing streak. Michigan enters the match with a 9-2 overall record and ranked No. 24 nationally.
“We’re going to try to play on our terms and make sure our strengths are going to their weaknesses,” Wurtzman said. “We know they’re very talented and have a lot of confidence, but we’re not going to shut down and let them walk all over us. We’re going to give everything we can to win.”
On Sunday, the team heads to East Lansing to play Michigan State at the MSU Tennis Center.
IU faced Michigan State on Feb. 28, executing a 7-0 victory over the Spartans at home. The Hoosiers will attempt to continue a seven-match win streak. Michigan State enters the match with a 4-8 conference record.
“For this match, we have to have our guard up,” Wurtzman said. “We beat Michigan State handily at our place, but they’ve had some good wins since that match. We can’t expect to win easily like we did the last time.”
The Hoosiers are rapidly approaching the end of their Big Ten conference schedule, with only three regular season matches remaining after this weekend.
The Big Ten tournament will be held from April 29 to May 2. The tournament, hosted by Nebraska, will take place at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center.
“Our main priority for the rest of the season is to be a team in every match that we play,” Wurtzman said. “We all have a mission of trying to get the four points, but more importantly, have a really good culture of teamwork and being together out there.”
