Drama seals victory

With two matches remaining Saturday, the men's tennis team found its undefeated record in jeopardy. The solution: seniors Milan Rakvica and Ian Arons.\nCarrying a 3-2 match advantage, the No. 24 Hoosiers needed only one victory to clinch the win against visiting Kansas and move to 4-0 on the season.\nBut the Jayhawks did not give up without a fight.\nRakvica and Arons, playing at No. 1 and 2 singles respectively, found themselves down early. With IU in need of a win, the duo stepped into the spotlight. \nRakvica came first. He battled back to take the first set after trailing 3-0 Jayhawk junior Rodrigo Echagaray, but again found himself down three games in the second set. But Rakvica fought back, winning five straight sets to take a 6-4 win and claim the match for the Hoosiers.\n"I started out not playing very well," Rakvica said. "I was broken early, but I got a few lucky shots and was able to get back into the match."\nRakvica deflected being credited for nailing down the win.\n"You really have to give credit to the team," Rakvica said. "The whole team played very well today."\nAt the same time Rakvica was pursuing his victory, Arons was chipping away at an early deficit. After dropping the first set 4-6, Arons battled sophomore Eleazar Magallan nearly point-for-point through the second set, eventually winning 7-5.\nThe team match still undecided, Arons came out strong in the third set, capturing the early lead. Midway through the set, Rakvica closed out his match taking pressure off Arons, but Arons would not let up.\n"I knew either Milan or I needed to win," Arons said. "When Milan won, I knew we had clinched the (team) victory, but I still wanted the (individual) win."\n Arons got his win, taking the third set 6-3 and helping the Hoosiers to a 5-2 victory.\n "I came out a little flat, and it was a little hard to get going," Arons said. "As the match went on, I played more aggressive and kept fighting and pulled through."\n Coach Ken Hydinger said he was pleased to see two of his seniors clinch the win for the team.\n "(Ian and Milan) are tough players, and they work extremely hard," Hydinger said. "I am very happy to see them pick up these wins."\nAlso picking up wins for the Hoosiers were senior Paul Jacobsen (No. 3) sophomore Zach Held (No. 5), and freshman Bernard Tsepelman (No. 6). With their wins, Jacobsen and Held remain undefeated in singles play, while Tsepelman moved to 4-3 for the spring term. The Hoosiers also won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to round out the scoring. \n"I think we played well today," Hydinger said. "We had a few loose spots, but the guys stayed positive mentally and fought past those spots, and we were able to get a good win against a good team"