In two decisive conference games for rankings, Indiana men’s tennis crumbled under pressure, losing both games on the road against Michigan and Michigan State. The pair of losses dropped the Hoosiers to 13-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play.
The weekend started off on track, with the Hoosiers winning the doubles point against Michigan as sophomore Sam Landau and fifth-year Carson Haskins took a narrow 8-6 set win on Court 2. Freshman Facundo Yunis and sophomore Luc Boulier continued to shine in doubles, securing their tenth victory as a pair with a 7-5 win.
After a positive 1-0 start, the Hoosiers unraveled, failing to score another point for the rest of the weekend. For the second match in a row, the Hoosiers were swept in singles. Landau was the only player to make it to three sets, losing to No. 17 Gavin Young 2-6, 6-3 and then 10-6 in the decisive third set. Yunis’ recent struggles continued, as he earned his third loss in a row against No. 124 Jacob Bickersteth via 7-5 and 6-1 sets, respectively.
With an opportunity for a statement win against No. 18 Michigan State, the Hoosiers went into East Lansing and got ransacked, leading to a 7-0 defeat. The doubles point was lost after the hot tandem of Yunis/Boulier cooled off in a 6-2 defeat, along with Landau/Haskins losing 6-4. Seniors Michael Andre and Ilya Tiraspolsky were able to salvage a 6-4 win, however it was to no avail due to the other court losses.
The defeat secured the point for the Spartans, who rattled off another six singles court wins. The Hoosiers have been swept in singles in three straight matches.
The usual top singles players of Landau, Andre and Tiraspolsky all appeared to get the day off, leading to an unusual cast of players who were not up to the challenge. Once again, Court 1 was the only court to reach three sets, with Yunis this time battling No. 43 Ronnie Hohmann. Yunis lost the first set 6-3 before coming back to win the second set 6-2 and then dropping the third 6-4.
Going into the weekend, Landau was hesitant but optimistic about the team’s prospects.
“Michigan’s not as good this year, I think we might have a chance against them. Michigan State’s doing very well this year so that’s going to be a tough one,” Landau said. “Especially at their facility, we’re an underdog, but a lot of our guys can compete with anybody.”
Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, Landau’s hopes failed to materialize, and Indiana has now lost three matches in a row and five of its last seven. Playing away from home continues to be an Achilles heel for the Hoosiers, as their road record moves to 0-6.
Indiana will look to get off the schneid against Butler University at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the IU Tennis Center.
