No. 54 Indiana men’s tennis was back on the road to conclude its east coast road trip this past weekend. The Hoosiers fell to 0-4 this season away from the IU Tennis Center after losing to No. 64 Princeton University and No. 71 Yale University.
On Friday, the Hoosiers visited Princeton, New Jersey, to take on the Tigers. Indiana got the jump on Princeton by taking the doubles point.
“We did a great job of battling,” head coach Jeremy Wurtzman said Tuesday. “It was a really tough point to earn, but we got the job done.”
Freshmen Sam Landau and Luc Boulier won at No. 2 doubles 6-2. After Princeton won at No. 3 doubles, it all came down to the match at No. 1 doubles. Fifth-year senior Patrick Fletchall and junior Ilya Tiraspolsky pulled out a close win 7-6 to earn the doubles point for Indiana.
“(Fletchall and Tiraspolsky) were great in doubles,” Wurtzman said. “To pull that one out, especially on the road, was great to see.”
With the 1-0 lead, the Hoosiers went into singles play feeling confident. However, Princeton came out hot, winning at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles to take all of the momentum. Freshman Ekansh Kumar won in three sets at No. 6 singles, but it wasn’t enough for Indiana as Princeton clinched the win at No. 4 singles.
Indiana finished its weekend road trip with a match in New Haven, Connecticut, against Yale. For just the third time this season, the Hoosiers lost the doubles point.
Fletchall and Tiraspolsky won at No. 1 doubles, but the Bulldogs answered with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to snatch the doubles point.
“(Yale) played really well,” Wurtzman said. “I don’t think we matched their intensity.”
The Hoosiers were no match for the Bulldogs in singles either, as Yale won at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 singles to win the match 4-0.
“It was a lot of travel, it was the first time this season we played two road matches in the same weekend,” Wurtzman said. “We just didn’t look like ourselves (against Yale).”
Indiana is back at home to host Illinois State on March 10, the Hoosiers’ first home match since Feb. 19.
“We hope we can go back home and take care of business,” Wurtzman said. “It’s a big match for us to get back to winning.”
Indiana now stands at 9-5 on the season with just two more matches before Big Ten play begins on March 25.
Follow reporter Zach Browning (@ZachBrowning17) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
