Indiana men’s tennis kicked off its 2026 season over the weekend with 10 singles and five doubles victories at the UT Hidden Duals tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The University of Tennessee hosted the event at the Goodfriend Tennis Center, where the University of Memphis, the University of Louisville and Middle Tennessee State University also competed.
It was a weekend of success for the Hoosiers, led by strong performances from redshirt senior Sam Scherer and junior Matteo Antonescu.
On the first day of the tournament Friday, Indiana faced off against Memphis and dominated the singles court. The team secured four singles victories, anchored by wins from Scherer and Antonescu.
Even in defeat, the Hoosiers showed poise. Indiana junior Ariel Zauber pushed Memphis junior Benjamin Martin in a strong three-set contest, but Martin held the edge with a final score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Despite the loss, Indiana carried momentum into Saturday’s contest against Louisville. The Hoosiers swept the Cardinals in each of their doubles matches. Antonescu and freshman Zavier Augustin defeated senior Hamza El Amine and freshman Lucas Bazin 6-2. Meanwhile, Scherer and Zauber defeated senior Russell Lokko and sophomore Jerald Carroll 7-5.
Atonescu and Augustin dominated their match from the opening serve. The duo secured two service breaks which kept the Cardinals out of rhythm for a majority of the match.
Scherer and Zauber were caught in a close match, with the score tied at 5-5. But the Hoosiers took the last two games to seal a high pressure 7-5 victory.
In the singles matches, Scherer stood out with his victory over El Amine. Scherer won the first set and El Amine took over in the second before Scherer brought it home for the Hoosiers.
On the final day of the tournament, Indiana lost three of its five singles matches against Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee, but rebounded with a sweep of its doubles matches. Antonescu and Augustin pulled out a 6-4 victory and Scherer and Zauber also took home a win with a final score of 6-2.
Indiana will look to continue its momentum at the ITA All-American Championships which are being held at the University of Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center through Sunday.
