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(02/08/10 4:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Home-court advantage can be a powerful thing. The IU men’s tennis team continued a trend of strong play at home Saturday when the Hoosiers dominated both Tennessee Tech and Butler 7-0 at the IU Tennis Center. The Hoosiers, who dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 10 Ole Miss one week ago, came out looking to get back on the right track, and the team took all of its anger and frustration out on two inferior opponents.IU (3-1) didn’t drop a single set in the two matches, defeating each opponent in just over two hours. Sophomore Jeremy Langer and freshman Josh MacTaggart were exceptional at two and three singles, respectively. Langer took out Tennessee Tech’s Josh Girling 6-0, 6-1 and knocked off Ben Raynauld of Butler in a similar fashion, winning 6-1, 6-2. MacTaggart was even more impressive. The United Kingdom native dropped only one game in his four sets, and it came late in the second match against Butler’s Bryce Warren when he led 6-0, 5-0. MacTaggart flustered his opposition all day long with a mixture of well-placed shots both at the net and on the baseline. “I always try to get a good start and then just control the tempo throughout the match,” MacTaggart, who has lost only one home match all season, said. “Sometimes I struggle to do that, but just keeping the tempo is important.” As many story lines as there were on Saturday, it might have been the performance of IU’s No. 5 singles player that epitomized the Hoosiers’ mental focus for the matches. Freshman Isade Juneau battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set against Tennessee Tech’s Oscar Pachon to win 7-5 and take the match. “This is what we wanted to do today, and we accomplished our goal,” IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “If we are going to be able to beat teams in the top 10 we have to work at it each time that we come out. I was proud of the guys, especially with a younger lineup out there. The younger guys did as good as the older players today.”
(01/25/10 5:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ever heard of Jeremy Langer or Will Kendall? If you haven’t, you will soon. Langer and Kendall might not get much publicity now, but the two sophomores are rising stars on the IU men’s tennis team, and they could help the Hoosiers capture a Big Ten title this season. “They are both going to make a push to play higher than maybe what people thought they were going to play in the fall,” said second-year IU coach Randy Bloemendaal. “They have both worked really hard to improve.” Langer has been an up-and-down player for the Hoosiers since his arrival in Bloomington. The important thing for him, however, is the fact that he has shown signs of being an elite player. “I think Langer’s always had a tremendous upside,” Bloemendaal said. “He trained hard this summer, and I felt like he maybe didn’t see exactly how good he was getting. I mean, the guys feel themselves – they don’t see themselves. But I could see that he was on the verge of starting to play well.” Langer was forced to be the No. 1 guy for IU at the UNLV Invitational earlier this month because of the absence of juniors Lachlan Ferguson (undisclosed injury) and Santiago Gruter (pneumonia). He stepped up, knocking off a top-ranked opponent for the second time in his career against No. 81 Andrew Carter of Louisville.Langer has had his struggles in an IU uniform, but Bloemendaal said he believes he will headline the lineup this spring. “He’s still got another level or two to go, but you’re starting to see the results,” Bloemendaal said. “I think he’s got potential to play at the top day in and day out, and he’s starting to work like he wants to.” Kendall’s jump has been even more drastic and maybe even more impressive.The Short Hills, N.J. product would be routinely put in the singles lineup and taken out when it was time for doubles. Kendall got some work during the fall, but he still wasn’t performing anywhere near the top of the lineup. “We struggled a little bit at three (third team) doubles late last year so we tried to put him in there and he didn’t really have any success at all,” Bloemendaal said. “The fall was really more of the same. He had just a little bit of success.” That all changed at the UNLV Invitational. Kendall and fellow sophomore Stephen Vogl played exceptionally well in the Sin City, beating the 33rd-ranked tandem in the country – Louisville’s Robert Hall and Alejandro Calligari. “That was very exciting. We didn’t actually realize they were ranked until after we beat them,” Kendall said. “We knew that if we just stuck to our game plan and played solid, then we would be there in the end, and that’s what happened.” Why the quick turnaround? Simply practice. “All the doubles drills in practice help a lot,” Kendall said. “Doing doubles challenge matches really helps you prepare and get ready for the tournaments.” It is unclear where Langer and Kendall will play in the lineup this spring. They both understand the immense amount of talent that the team possesses. What is clear, however, is that the once-unknown sophomores are starting to put their names in the mix.
(01/22/10 5:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s tennis team will play in its last tune-up competition this weekend. The Hoosiers are in Blacksburg, Va.for the Hokie Challenge, which begins at 4 p.m. today. With the regular season only eight days away, this is the last chance for some of IU’s younger players to prove themselves before the first lineup is released.“We need to see who can play up at the top in this tournament so that we can determine a lineup by the next match,” said IU coach Randy Bloemendaal. “I have a better idea after Vegas, and I should have a really good idea after this tournament.” The competition’s talent level is incredibly high. Of the four teams in the tournament, three are ranked in the top 50 (No. 23 Auburn, No. 27 Virginia Tech, No. 48 IU). The College of Charleston is the only unranked team in the field. Because of the tournament’s round-robin format, Bloemendaal expects nearly everyone to play at least one match during the weekend. One exception is junior Lachlan Ferguson, who is still dealing with an undisclosed injury. Bloemendaal said Ferguson could return in a week or he could be out for an extended period of time, depending on how he feels on a day-to-day basis. “It’s hard to tell,” Bloemendaal said. “Lachlan is hitting balls now, and we’d like to see him get into doubles at some point soon and then slowly work his way back into singles.”
(01/12/10 3:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Every team has its training program. It usually takes place right before the season begins, and it typically consists of a coach pushing his players to their physical and emotional extremes.The IU men’s tennis team had all that, but its training program didn’t take place on the Assembly Hall floor or the practice fields behind Memorial Stadium. Instead, the Hoosiers went to Las Vegas for a week-long bonding and training experience they will not soon forget.The club traveled, lived and spent long, grueling days training together on a trip head coach Randy Bloemendaal said he hopes will prepare his players for anything they will experience throughout the upcoming spring season.The venue may have been different than anything the Hoosiers had experienced before, but Bloemendaal said he is hopeful the trip will help them accomplish their team goals this year.“I think more than anything, they started to gain a better understanding of what we’re trying to do here at Indiana and a better understanding of what it’s going to take to get there,” the Hoosiers’ second-year coach said. “They started learning about not just getting along with their teammates, but how to get the most out of them.”Bloemendaal and the coaching staff rented out a house for the week and set up an area where the team could meet each night to discuss various topics as a group.During the day, the Hoosiers bonded on the tennis court.Early in the week, they trained five to six hours per day on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. IU began playing doubles matches Wednesday afternoon, so the Hoosiers trained for only three and a half hours that day.They then competed in the UNLV Spring Invitational throughout the weekend and produced results Bloemendaal was tremendously proud of.“It was a success all the way around,” he said. “The guys weren’t at their best physically, but it was more about getting to the right mentality and to be comfortable mentally in the face of adversity.” Freshman Josh MacTaggart, one of IU’s top performers in the fall season, understands the unique nature of the trip he and his teammates experienced.MacTaggart did not get the match results he had hoped for, but he still enjoyed the bonding experience with a group composed of so many different cultural backgrounds.“It was good fun being with the team and everything,” said the United Kingdom native. “We elected the captains and talked about some things, so it was good for the team. I lost some close matches, but I’m going to keep working hard.”And spending a week in the Sin City wasn’t all that bad, either.“Las Vegas is awesome,” MacTaggart said. “I had never been before, so it’s pretty interesting to see the whole city.”
(01/11/10 4:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU men’s tennis was without two of its best players. The Hoosiers were nearly 2,000 miles away from home, and they were not their best physically because of long hours they spent training in the Nevada heat.Still, even with everything the Hoosiers went through, they competed with some of the best teams in the nation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Spring Invitational this weekend. IU started the spring season Friday against the host Rebels. Sophomores Jeremy Langer and Maxime Armengaud and freshmen Isade Juneau and Alex van Gils picked up singles wins against UNLV while the teams of Langer and Armengaud and Juneau and freshman Josh MacTaggart earned doubles victories. In all, the Hoosiers took six of the nine matches they played against the Rebels.They would not fare nearly as well against the 18th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.Only Armengaud, sophomore Will Kendall and sophomore Stephen Vogl won matches against Alabama, and Alabama swept the Hoosiers in doubles play. MacTaggart, who came into the weekend ranked 119th in singles, dropped a highly contested match to Alabama’s Ricky Doverspike 7-6, 3-6, 6-7.It was a tough weekend for MacTaggart after his nearly perfect fall.The freshman and United Kingdom native dropped all three of his singles matches and struggled to win close sets. IU coach Randy Bloemendaal, however, was not worried.“Josh didn’t get the end results, but he competed really well,” Bloemendaal said. “With some of the things he has done on the court, he’s going to get the results. He’s already dealt with the pressure of playing in big matches.”IU finished the round-robin tournament against No. 20 Louisville on Sunday and performed as well as it had all weekend. The Hoosiers won only three of their seven singles matches, but they were a perfect four-for-four in doubles against the Cardinals’ lethal lineup.Included in the doubles wins was a 9-8 upset of the No. 33 team of Robert Hall and Alejandro Calligari by Kendall and Vogl.All in all, Bloemendaal loved what he saw out of the young team he was forced to put out on the court.“It was a success all the way across,” he said. “I thought the guys came out of it with a better understanding of where we are compared to top competition and where we’re trying to go.” The Hoosiers have a week off before traveling to Blacksburg, VA, on Jan. 22 for the Hokie Challenge.
(01/08/10 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers are back.After a 67-day hiatus following freshman Josh MacTaggart’s Big Ten Singles Championship, the IU men’s tennis team returns to the court today as it prepares for the spring season.The Hoosiers are in Las Vegas for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Invitational, one of the final individual tournaments before the regular season is underway Jan. 30 vs. Columbia.One of the high points of the Hoosiers’ fall season was MacTaggart’s spectacular run to a Big Ten title on Nov. 2. The United Kingdom native lost only one match in the fall and put major pressure on IU coach Randy Bloemendaal to place him in the lineup during the spring.But his late fall success didn’t only give him confidence; it also helped motivate his entire team. The Hoosiers worked out hard over break so they could compete for a Big Ten title this season.While only individual results will be counted at the UNLV Invitational, it will have somewhat of a team feel to it.The tournament features a round-robin “hidden dual” format with four teams competing against one another. The Hoosiers open play at 1:30 p.m. today against No. 73 UNLV. IU players at all positions will compete against UNLV.That process will repeat itself when the Hoosiers compete against No. 18 Alabama on Saturday and No. 20 Louisville on Sunday. IU will play only one of those teams during the regular season (Louisville) but could see the other two in the NCAA Tournament. MacTaggart climbing in ITA rankingsMacTaggart might only be a freshman, but his success has already been recognized by the International Tennis Association. He is the only Hoosier singles player ranked in the top 125 nationally, as he enters the spring season at No. 119. Sophomores Jeremy Langer and Maxime Armengaud are ranked 50th in doubles.Meet the Hoosiers on the IU Web siteThe IU Athletics Web site (www.iuhoosiers.cstv.com) now features a set of one-on-one interview videos with men’s tennis players with Sports Information Director Kyle Johnson. A series of videos called “At the Net” – where Johnson asks players questions about things such as their favorite foods – allows Hoosier fans to get to know some of the players and their hobbies away from the game.
(11/17/09 6:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU coach Tom Crean’s recruiting class just beefed up a bit.Will Sheehey, the No. 131 player in the class of 2010, gave a verbal commitment to IU on Monday and plans to sign a letter of intent at some point this week. He is Crean’s second commitment for 2010, along with the No. 133 recruit in the nation, Victor Oladipo.Sheehey, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Weston, Fla., averaged 24.6 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior at South Fork High School last year, according to the Miami Herald.He also had offers from Stanford and George Washington, but Sheehey said IU stood out because of its rich basketball history.“I’m very excited,” he said. “There are not too many places in the country that have the kind of talent and history of Indiana. They’re in the rebounding stage right now, but I think that by the time I get there they are going to be getting it turned around.”Jerry Meyer, a recruiting analyst for www.rivals.com, said Sheehey is a “solid pick-up” for the Hoosiers, and he expects him to contribute right away.“I’m sure Coach Crean would have loved to have Jelan Kendrick,” said Meyer, citing the No. 8 player in the nation and IU prospect’s signing with Memphis Saturday. “But Will is a very nice player. I think he has a bright future. Will had some moments this summer where he looked extremely good, and I expect him to only get better. He’s a competitor, plays hard – he’s really a Coach Crean-type of player.”Sheehey made an official visit to Bloomington the weekend of Nov. 7 and said he loved the campus’ atmosphere.He wanted a school that had it all, and Sheehey said he felt IU was that school.“Just the combination of basketball, academics and the overall atmosphere really put me over the edge,” he said. “The tradition at IU really stands out and the coaching staff. Tom Crean is an intense guy. Every practice is going to be intense. He’s just all about player development and getting to the next level. Its academics might not measure up to all the other schools, but in a basketball sense, I mean, it’s Indiana.”While Sheehey might not be an impact player right away for the Hoosiers, Meyer believes he has the tools to fight for minutes.“I like his versatility – I think he can guard different positions on the court,” Meyer said. “I think he rebounds his position well as a wing player, and he loves to attack the basket. He needs to improve his outside shot, but I think he has the tools to contribute right away.”
(11/03/09 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU men’s tennis coach Randy Bloemendaal constantly talks about the necessity of a “breakthrough.” He preaches it to his players every day in practice and he speaks about it before every tournament.Josh MacTaggart must be listening. The freshman sensation continued his early season run by claiming a singles title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Monday.It was the first time an IU player has won a Big Ten championship since 1977 and only the third time a Hoosier has earned the trophy since the tournament began in 1900. MacTaggart, who has won all but one of his singles matches this fall, beat Michigan’s Chris Madden by a score of 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the final. Madden knocked IU junior Santiago Gruter out of the tournament in the semifinal round earlier Monday.MacTaggart’s “refuse to lose” attitude has benefitted him greatly during his initial collegiate season.“He has had an outstanding fall, no doubt about it,” Bloemendaal said. “This caps it off. It’s a big breakthrough for him and also for the program. I mean, we haven’t won a tournament in 30 years, so he’s starting to break through barriers that are going to help us win championships.”MacTaggart missed an opportunity when he let Madden take the second set in dominating fashion.Bloemendaal said that’s when the United Kingdom native showed the Hoosiers what type of player he can be.“Nobody’s going to open the door for him and say, ‘Here’s a championship,’” Bloemendaal said. “He came out swinging in that third set and won 6-1.”MacTaggart was humble after the match, giving a great deal of credit to his teammate Gruter.“Santiago tired (Madden) out for me,” he said. “It feels really good to win.”MacTaggart started the day with a 6-1, 7-5 semifinal victory against Jason Lee of Penn State. He never really struggled in the match but had to fight off the Nittany Lion sophomore late in the second set.But, just like so many other matches this season, he found a way to win.“It has been great to do this well in the fall,” MacTaggart said. “It is really good for my confidence.”MacTaggart might only be a freshman, but Bloemendaal said his play this fall could earn him a considerable amount of playing time during the spring.“I’m a big believer in letting guys earn their spot, so he’s going to play where he earns it,” the second-year coach said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s a walk-on, a redshirt freshman or a senior – if he earns it, he’ll play. He’s definitely playing near the top of the lineup right now, if not the top.”
(11/02/09 5:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Josh MacTaggart and Santiago Gruter couldn’t be more different tennis players.MacTaggart is a freshman; Gruter, a junior.MacTaggart is smaller than nearly all of his opponents. Gruter is bigger than most of his.The two Hoosiers do have one important thing in common, however – they both continue to win.MacTaggart and Gruter advanced to today’s Big Ten singles semifinals in the conference’s indoor tournament on the campus of Michigan State.“The guys are playing well right now,” IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “They need to stay focused on (today).”Gruter struggled somewhat in his first round match against Sidarth Balaji of Northwestern (6-7, 7-6, 6-0), but he dominated his next three opponents.The Lima, Peru, native won his final six sets, including two by a score of 6-3 against eighth-seeded Eddie Bouchier of Penn State.“Santiago is playing some of the best tennis that I’ve seen him play,” Bloemendaal said. “He’s been winning with scores that are dominating, really. He’s played very well for the last two days.”MacTaggart, who advanced to the round of eight at last weekend’s regional, took all but one of his sets on the weekend and eliminated fifth-seeded Mike Sroczynski of Michigan (7-6, 6-1) in Sunday’s quarterfinal.The United Kingdom native will play Penn State’s Jason Lee at 9 a.m. today, while Gruter is scheduled to play Michigan’s Chris Madden, the sixth-seeded player in the tournament.Bloemendaal said the mental aspects of the semifinal matches could be more important than the physical ones.“To be honest with you, I don’t feel like the level of competition is going to go up,” he said. “It’s really going to be more about how we digest the situation in front of us. With each and every round there can be a perceived pressure even though there’s really not one. It’s really how we handle that. This could be a great step for each individual, and it’s a great opportunity for the program as well.”
(10/30/09 6:35pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The team season is still some three months away, but the IU men’s tennis team will get to see some Big Ten talent this weekend.The Hoosiers are in East Lansing, Mich., for the Big Ten Singles Championships, which begin Friday.Few top players will participate – junior Lachlan Ferguson and sophomore Maxime Armengaud will not – but IU’s younger players will get their first look at conference players.Sophomore Stephen Vogl didn’t get the opportunity to play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional last week and he is ready to get back on the court.“Last week was tough just watching, not being able to play,” he said. “I’m pretty pumped to get back out there. It’s going to be a pretty high level of competition with some good players from the Big Ten playing. It will be a good experience.”Freshman Josh MacTaggart, who advanced to the singles round of eight at the regional, will team with junior Santiago Gruter in the “A” doubles draw this weekend.MacTaggart and Gruter are seeded third and fourth in the singles bracket, respectively, and IU coach Randy Bloemendaal is hopeful that they will respond well to seeing conference players.“For a lot of young men, it’s a big advantage when they get to see what they’re working for and who they’re trying to compete with and beat,” Bloemendaal said. “For the most part, there are a lot of good players there.“It’s a very prestigious tournament. Over the years, professionals and college champions play in this tournament and win it. It would be a honor for one of our guys to advance to the final.”
(10/29/09 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Alex Bozich has been covering the IU men’s basketball team as the editor and co-founder of insidethehall.com since 2007. He’s reported on the tail end of the Kelvin Sampson era and the beginning of the Tom Crean era. He shared his thoughts with the Indiana Daily Student on former IU coach Bob Knight’s decision not to attend the Hall of Fame induction next week.IDS: What is your reaction to Dick Vitale’s Twitter post saying Bob Knight will not return next week?AB: I wasn’t really surprised. It just seemed like from the get-go it was a long shot that he’d come back. It’s been almost 10 years now, and he hasn’t decided to come back before even though there have been a lot of changes in the administration. I think it was a good move by the University to try to make one final push to get him to come back, but it always seemed like a long shot, so I wasn’t really surprised that he decided he wasn’t going to do it.IDS: What do you think it means that he never responded one way or the other despite Fred Glass’ repeated attempts to reach out?AB: I just think it means he thought he was treated unfairly when they decided to fire him and he’s never gotten over it. No matter what they’ve done these past couple months, nothing really mattered to him. It was always going to be his decision on his terms, and if there was something that he was unhappy with, he wasn’t going to do it. I think the fact that the information about the $75,000 check getting into the public gave him a clear cut reason that he could use.
(10/29/09 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bob Kravitz, a columnist for the Indianapolis Star, answered questions about former IU men’s basketball coach Bob Knight’s decision to decline IU’s invitation for the IU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame reception on Nov. 6. Here’s what Kravitz had to say:IDS: What is your reaction to the Dick Vitale Twitter post saying Bob Knight will not return to the Hall of Fame induction next week? BK: I think it’s a shame. I thought that this may have been the beginning of a thawing between IU and Knight, but I understand his motivation. I really hope the book isn’t closed, but I have every reason to believe that it is at this point. IDS: Do you see him ever returning to the IU campus or making any kind of contact with the Athletics Department? BK: I thought heading into this week that there was still a good chance that he might come back, but I think he started to feel like he was being pressured – which he wasn’t, by the way. I don’t think that they were pressuring him. I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was this issue regarding the money he received with the settlement. I think that closed the door right there. IDS: Do you feel like he should have at least reached out to Fred Glass and said one way or another so that it didn’t come out this way? BK: Yes, absolutely. The way I was raised, when somebody is kind enough to extend an invitation, and an olive branch in this case, the kind thing to do is to send an RSVP. He could have written, ‘Thank you for the invitation, but I respectfully decline.’ I think that would have been the way to do it, but you could also make the case that while IU’s heart was in the right place, maybe it wasn’t handled perfectly on IU’s end. Not from Fred Glass, but in terms of how this whole thing got handled with his settlement check. IDS: Where do you think IU goes from here? BK: I think they just move on with the Tom Crean era. I think Tom Crean will continue to bring in players from the past, including those from the Knight era. I don’t think this in any way changes Crean’s view of Bob Knight, and I don’t think it changes Fred Glass’ view of Bob Knight. I don’t think that you move forward and say ‘to hell with Bob Knight.’ I don’t think this closes the book completely. I think IU needs to keep that door open even if Bob Knight decides to close the door. IU needs to try to remain above the fray as much as possible. They’ve made their stance. They offered the olive branch, and I think not only was it not accepted, Bob Knight said, ‘You know what you can do with your olive branch ...’
(10/29/09 4:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Athletics Director Fred Glass’ attempt to reach out to former IU men’s basketball coach Bob Knight appears to have been unsuccessful.Knight will not attend the Nov. 6 IU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony, according to a Twitter post by his ESPN colleague Dick Vitale.“Just found out bob knight will not be going to Hoosier HoF,” Vitale wrote Wednesday.Glass sent Knight two handwritten letters, including one last week in which he told him that he didn’t need to make a quick decision because the University could accommodate him up until the day before the event.Knight is scheduled to be inducted in a class that includes one of his former players, Steve Downing, along with Jerry Yeagley, Alan Somers, Mike Rabold, Joe Norman and Katrin Koch.Bob Hammel, a former sports editor at the Bloomington Herald-Times and a close friend of Knight’s, said the class played a part in the former coach’s decision not to come.“It was kind of what I expected all along,” Hammel said. “I didn’t think he’d want to come in because he has a lot of respect for the rest of the people that are going in (the Hall of Fame).”Glass learned of the Twitter post Wednesday afternoon during an interview with John Michael Vincent of 1260 WNDE. He reiterated that he had not been in contact with Knight.“I have not yet heard anything from coach Knight, but I have been told that I will soon,” Glass told the radio station. “I am really good either way. I think it would be great if he came, but if he decided not to, I don’t think that would diminish his accomplishments.”Knight led the Hoosiers to three NCAA championships during his 30-year tenure with the University. While at IU, Knight won the National Coach of the Year award four times and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year six times.While it appears Knight still has bitter feelings toward the University, Hammel doesn’t believe Glass’ efforts were for naught.“I think, actually, there was some pretty good progress made here,” Hammel said.
(10/26/09 2:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Josh MacTaggart has something special.That seemed to be the consensus after the IU freshman and United Kingdom native surprised everyone by advancing to the singles round of eight at the Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Regional this weekend.MacTaggart fell to Vanderbilt’s Ryan Lipman 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinal, but it was his road to Sunday that captured the crowd’s attention.MacTaggart won his first-round match easily (6-1, 6-1), but he ran into problems against his seeded opponent in the second round.After taking 12 of the first 13 points and winning the first set 6-1, MacTaggart began to struggle against the No. 63 player in the nation, Bryant Salcedo of Vanderbilt.Salcedo won the second set 6-2 and went ahead 4-1 in the third set before the freshman responded.MacTaggart would take the next five games to earn himself a spot in the round of 16.He then faced a much bigger and stronger player in East Tennessee State’s Victor Melo.MacTaggart was not afraid.He found himself in a familiar situation after dropping the first set 3-6, but he worked hard to earn a 7-5 second set and won the match when Melo left with an injury.“He had a great weekend,” IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “To say it wasn’t a surprise, I think anyone in the tournament would be lying to you. It was definitely a surprise. The thing about Josh is he thinks he can win. Mentally, he does things on a lot higher level than most young men his age, and he makes a lot of balls. That’s a pretty good combination.”Had MacTaggart not run into one of the best players in the field, he might still be playing today.Lipman, a freshman from Nashville, Tenn., was ranked No. 3 in the class of 2009 and finished second at the junior Nationals last year.He knocked IU junior Lachlan Ferguson out of the tournament Saturday and ended MacTaggart’s run Sunday.“That match that he played against Ferg was as high a level of tennis that I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching college tennis these last 14 or 15 years,” Bloemendaal said. “I think he’s going to be one of the better players in the country. He’s a special player.”MacTaggart was happy with his success, but he was by no means satisfied.“It was really good to get this far in the tournament,” he said. “But I really would have liked to go a little bit further. Maybe next time I’ll get a little bit further.”The regional, which was played at the IU Tennis Center, was an overall success for the Hoosiers.Last year, IU had only four players in the main draw. This year, it had seven.Last year, only two Hoosiers advanced to the round of 32. This year, four advanced.Last year, no IU players made it past the second round. This year, MacTaggart and Ferguson did.They might not have accomplished their goal of a championship, but the Hoosiers are making jumps, and they’re making them in a hurry.“When guys make breakthroughs, it’s good for the team,” Bloemendaal said. “Winning championships means getting up on a higher level, and a breakthrough means the guys are going to try to go above and beyond that, and that’s good for the team.”
(10/23/09 2:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coaches constantly preach to their players the importance of keeping a positive attitude.
IU men’s tennis coach Randy Bloemendaal has been trying to instill that positive mentality within junior Santiago Gruter.
Gruter, a native of Lima, Peru, might be one of the more talented
Hoosiers, but he has let his attitude slip in a few matches over the
last two years.
Like all athletes, Gruter loves to win. He loves it so much, in fact,
that he absolutely cannot stand losing. When a call goes against him,
Gruter lets his disgust be known. He sometimes rides his emotions too
much.
He and Bloemendaal recognized that problem late last year, and Gruter
said he immediately began to focus on his attitude and body language.
He understood that to become the player he came to IU to be, something
had to change.
“I’ve really tried to stay positive out on the court, especially when
things aren’t going my way,” he said. “I think you can see changes. It
keeps me more stable when I’m playing a match. I’m not like a roller
coaster ride with ups and downs. I’m more even-keeled.”
Gruter came to Bloomington to play for Bloemendaal. He met him during a
tournament in Florida one summer, and Bloemendaal, who was an assistant
at the time, showed interest in Gruter.
Gruter said Bloemendaal’s promotion to the head coaching position played a large role in his decision to become a Hoosier.
“Coach and I talked for a little while after one of my matches (in
Florida), and he kept in contact,” Gruter said. “He is really trying to
do good things with this program.”
Bloemendaal, through the recruitment process, has really gotten to know
Gruter on a personal level. He cares about him. He pushes him.
Bloemendaal wants to see Gruter reach his potential.
“Mentally, if he could improve 20 or 30 percent in the next semester, I
think he has a chance to be one of the best players,” Bloemendaal said.
“We’re trying to give him the tools to work on. We feel like he has the
ability to make the jump so these next few weeks will tell us a lot
about where he’s at.”
Gruter played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for IU last year, but he
is going to have to fight for that position during the 2009-10 season.
He has only played in one tournament this fall – the Hoosier
Invitational – and he won a singles championship. As he takes the floor
at this weekend’s ITA Regional in Bloomington, Gruter hopes to be
taking home the hardware again.
“The regional is the biggest tournament we have in the fall,” he said.
“It’s definitely going to be the biggest tournament for me. It’s going
to be really cool because of the competition, and there are going to be
some good players here.
(10/22/09 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s tennis team loves to play at home. Maybe it’s the comfort of playing in Bloomington. Perhaps it’s the routine of practicing in the Tennis Center every day. Whatever “it” is, it’s working. During Randy Bloemendaal’s first two years as head coach, the Hoosiers have a 20-9 team record at home. During that time, they have won only 11 of their 26 road matches. IU hopes to continue the trend this weekend when it plays host to the Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship, which begins today. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to play this tournament on our campus because we play so well at home,” Bloemendaal said. “We get to have the best competition in the country come to our tournament and play us on our courts. It’s a big opportunity for us to get to the next level.” IU has played only one tournament at home this fall, the Hoosier Invitational, and two players took singles titles – junior Santiago Gruter and freshman Josh MacTaggart. The Hoosiers will have to be on top of their games if they hope to repeat those results this weekend.The best players from schools such as Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Purdue will be in town for the ITA event. A win in the regional could guarantee a player a berth in the National Indoor Tournament next month.Freshman Isade Juneau played his way into the event by means of his finish at the Louisville Winter Tournament last weekend. He said he is excited about what this tournament could do for the rest of his initial collegiate season. “Last weekend was great competition because we knew that two players from that would get to play in the ITA,” said the Quebec, Canada, native. “I came up big. Now the ITA will help me put pressure on the coach to put me higher in the lineup.” Gruter and fellow junior Lachlan Ferguson, along with sophomores Maxime Armengaud, Jeremy Langer and Will Kendall and freshmen MacTaggart and Alex van Gils, will join Juneau in the tournament.Bloemendaal said he hopes his team can use the regional to prove it belongs in the national picture. “I have been talking to them about that all semester. It’s time,” he said. “We have a couple of guys that look like they are ready to break through. You can’t always just show up to a match and expect to come out on top, but I think the odds are in our favor for someone to break through this weekend.”
(10/21/09 3:18pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s tennis team loves to play at home. Maybe it’s the comfort of playing in Bloomington. Perhaps it’s the routine of practicing in the Tennis Center every day. Whatever “it” is, it’s working. During Randy Bloemendaal’s first two years as head coach, the Hoosiers have a 20-9 team record at home. During that time, they have won only 11 of their 26 road matches. IU hopes to continue the trend this weekend when it plays host to the Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship beginning tomorrow. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to play this tournament on our campus because we play so well at home,” Bloemendaal said. “We get to have the best competition in the country come to our tournament and play us on our courts. It’s a big opportunity for us to get to the next level.” IU has played only one tournament at home this fall, the Hoosier Invitational, and two players took singles titles – junior Santiago Gruter and freshman Josh MacTaggart. The Hoosiers will have to be on top of their games if they hope to repeat those results this weekend. The best players from schools such as Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Purdue will be in town for the ITA event. A win in the regional could guarantee a player a berth in the National Indoor Tournament next month. Freshman Isade Juneau played his way into the event by means of his finish at the Louisville Winter Tournament last weekend. He said he is excited about what this tournament could do for the rest of his initial collegiate season. “Last weekend was great competition because we knew that two players from that would get to play in the ITA,” said the Quebec, Canada native. “I came up big. Now the ITA will help me put pressure on the coach to put me higher in the lineup.” Gruter and fellow junior Lachlan Ferguson, along with sophomores Maxime Armengaud, Jeremy Langer and Will Kendall and freshmen MacTaggart and Alex van Gils will join Juneau in the tournament.Bloemendaal hopes his team can use the regional to prove it belongs in the national picture. “I have been talking to them about that all semester. It’s time,” he said. “We have a couple of guys that look like they are ready to break through. You can’t always just show up to a match and expect to come out on top, but I think the odds are in our favor for someone to break through this weekend.”
(10/19/09 4:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU men’s tennis coach Randy Bloemendaal said before the weekend that he wanted at least one player to break through at the Louisville Tournament.He got his wish.Freshman Isade Juneau advanced to the final match of “A” singles before falling the Eastern Kentucky’s Alex Das. Juneau has now finished second in his first two collegiate tournaments.He advanced to the finals after knocking off Xavier’s Brandon MacDonald 6-3, 6-4. Juneau ran into problems, however, in the finals, where he faced one of the hottest players in the field.Das dropped only two sets in his four matches and overpowered the young Juneau in the championship.“He started down love-3 in that first match and was able to come back,” said assistant coach Scott Linn, who traveled with the team for the tournament. “He did real well to overcome adversity and rise up to the challenge. It took a lot of energy to stay in that first match, and I think he was a little bit emotionally drained by the time he got to the finals.”Juneau, who also advanced to the singles title match at the Hoosier Invitational in September, won two tight matches Saturday to keep himself in contention on the final day of competition.He outlasted Tennessee Tech’s Josh Girling 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-3 before escaping a close match against Sumit Gupta of Louisville with wins of 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4.The other three Hoosiers did not fare as well.Sophomore Will Kendall won his first-round match but fell to Western Kentucky’s Thomas Krug in the quarterfinals. Kendall also teamed with freshman Tommy Aliber in doubles competition. The duo dropped their first match 9-8 but won two matches in consolation play.Sophomore Stephen Vogl, playing in his first tournament of the season, dropped his initial match before winning two straight in the consolation bracket.“Stephen needs to play a lot more matches, but he didn’t look bad,” Linn said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself because he wants to be successful this year. It probably didn’t help that he was seeded second in the tournament and got a first-round bye.”
(10/16/09 3:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sophomore Stephen Vogl arrived on campus early this summer so that he could make a major impact on the men’s tennis team during the 2009-10 season.He will get his first chance this weekend.Vogl, a sophomore from Stamford, Conn., is one of four Hoosiers that will take the court in the Louisville Winter Invitational beginning Friday.It may still be early in the fall season, but that doesn’t change Vogl’s mindset. He’s ready to win.“Any time you enter a tournament, your main objective is to compete and take home the trophy,” he said. “I’m a pretty competitive person, so whenever I have the chance to win something, I’m going to give it my all.”Vogl will be joined by three teammates that are also anxious to prove themselves.Freshmen Isade Juneau and Tommy Aliber, along with sophomore Will Kendall, will be in action for the second time this season. All three players competed in the Hoosier Invitational and Juneau advanced to a singles flight final.“I’m looking for one if not multiple guys to break through in that (Louisville) tournament,” said IU coach Randy Bloemendaal. “Two of these four guys are going to enter into the ITA Regional and I really need two guys to separate themselves.”Bloemendaal said the Invitational should serve as good preparation for next weekend’s regional, which will be held in Bloomington.“It will be good competition and I think it will give us a good feel for what will be in the regional,” he said. “Not quite as intense, but close.”
(10/12/09 3:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following a weekend where the on-court competition was overshadowed by Mother Nature, the IU women’s tennis team felt fortunate to escape the north Florida heat.The Hoosiers, playing in their second tournament of the fall season, chose the wrong time to head south. Temperatures were in the 90s and IU coach Lin Loring said approximately 16 players were taken off the courts by Emergency Medical Technicians throughout the weekend.No IU players experienced heat-related illnesses or injuries, but the Hoosiers did have their share of problems.Junior Maria Guerreiro was complaining of stomach pain during the team’s first night in Florida and she ended up having surgery to remove her appendix. Then, while warming up for her initial singles match, junior Charlotte Martin pulled a ligament in her wrist and was unable to play. Sophomore Megan Matter did get into a doubles match but she quickly became ill and did not finish.“We had some weird things happen down here,” Loring said. “But we actually fared pretty well for the girls that did play. We were the only team that came from the north so we should have been the ones cramping up. Players were dropping like flies.”Even with all the distractions, the Hoosiers continued to play well on the tennis court. Freshman Leslie Hureau remained unbeaten on the young season as she advanced to both the “A” Singles and “A” Doubles championships. She was scheduled to play teammate Evgeniya Vertesheva in the singles final but Loring did not feel it was necessary to play that match under the circumstances.“We didn’t need to play that out but, fortunately, they both won the semis,” he said.Hureau teamed with junior Myriam Sopel to win a doubles championship against Troy’s Kelly Irving and Lauren Simpson. Hureau and Sopel’s 8-0 victory kept their perfect record intact.Loring said he has been thrilled with Hureau’s instant impact as a freshman.“She has played very well. She is a very smart player,” Loring said. “I don’t think Leslie dropped a set. Both she and Evgeniya have been very involved and I have been very pleased with both of them.”