A pair of Hoosier from the Indiana men’s tennis squad arrived in Lake Nona, Florida on Tuesday to compete in the culmination of teams fall season — the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships.
The tournament brought together the top performers from tennis programs across the country as it featured a competitive singles bracket of 64 competitors alongside an equally demanding doubles bracket featuring 32 pairs.
Sam Landau, represented Indiana in singles competition. But in the competition’s first round, he suffered a difficult heartbreak.
In the doubles draw, Landau and redshirt junior Facundo Yunis teamed up, however despite strong season momentum, the pair was unable to make it out of the round of 32.
After spending a season away at Duke University, Landau returned to Indiana this fall, beginning with a pre-season ITA singles ranking of 71.
At the ITA All-American on Sep. 20, Landau fell short, pushing to the round of 32 before falling to TCU junior Ducan Chan. However, at the ITA Ohio Valley Regionals on Oct. 9, Landau made his breakthrough, taking five straight wins and punching his ticket to an NCAA tournament appearance, demonstrating his capability to compete with top regional talent and marking a standout achievement for Indiana’s fall season.
In the first Round of the NCAA tournament Tuesday in Lake Nona, Landau faced off against Wake Forest junior Luca Pow; one of the most dominant players in the country who finished his previous sophomore season with a remarkable 57-5 career singles record.
The match began with Landau setting the pace and dictating points from the baseline in a 6-3 set win. However, in the second set, Pow responded fast and strong with a 6-1 comeback, forcing the match into a decisive third set.
The third set of the match was contentious throughout, with Landau and Pow scoring points on each other back and forth. Eventually, however, Pow gained an upper hand late, knocking Ladau out of the tournament in a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 loss.
Action continued Wednesday with the tournament debut of the doubles pair of Landau and Yunis.
The pair had previously competed together at several tournaments throughout the fall, including the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships on Oct. 9, the Big Ten Individual Championship on Oct. 30, and the ITA Sectionals on Nov. 6.
The pair edged their way into the NCAA championship via a third-place finish at the ITA Sectionals, taking the win over their Hoosier teammates, sophomore Matteo Antonescu and graduate student Michael Andre in that event.
In the round of 32 the Hoosiers faced University of Florida’s duo of senior Tanapatt Nirundorn and junior Henry Jefferson, who qualified for the NCAA draw after an impressive showing in their first appearance together in the fall season at the ITA All-American Championships.
Although Landau and Yunis competed together with energy, the pair was unable to break though against the Gators’ consistent service games and ultimately fell 3-6, 4-6.
Looking forward to the spring season, Indiana will begin to shift its focus to a competitive dual season. Indiana will open its campaign in a home match against Butler University on Jan. 10. at the IU Tennis Center.
