Senior setting standard for men's tennis team

If men's tennis coach Ken Hydinger had to sum up his tennis program, he would do it with one name: Ian Arons.\n"Ian has been a great guy for four years," Hydinger said of the senior. "He is one of those guys who comes to work everyday and has the maturity to see the big picture. He knows and wants what is good for the team and good for the program. He portrays what we want this program to be about. He is a person of ability and responsibility as well as a classic student-athlete."\nArons' teammates agree.\n"Ian is a great teammate, and he works hard at what he does on and off the court," junior Rahman Smiley said. "He is a very team-oriented player. He plays with a lot of heart and routinely finds a way to win."\nArons has compiled an impressive list of talents in his time at IU. He has started every match in his four years as a Hoosier and has accumulated 73 victories. Playing at the No. 1 singles position in his sophomore year, Arons was named to the All-Big Ten team. Arons credits that sophomore experience for much of his success in the past two years. \n"Playing at No. 1 or 2, you learn pretty quickly that you have to play your best tennis every match to win," Arons said. "Chances are, any team you face is going to have strong No. 1 and 2 players, so you have to be prepared to play quality opponents. Playing No. 1 was a good experience, and it helped me improve a lot."\nEven more impressive than his playing accomplishments are his academic accomplishments. With three Academic All-Big Ten awards, among other academic honors, Arons has shown he is more than just a tennis player. Arons admitted the balancing act is difficult.\n"You have to continually balance your schedule to the point where you are able to get your work done on and off the court," Arons said. "You have to use your time off of the court to get your studies together."\nAcademic excellence is not something new to Arons either. As a young high school talent, he was recruited by many Ivy League schools, including Yale and Cornell. But Arons wanted more of an athletic environment and chose to attend IU.\n"Playing Big Ten tennis was a big draw," Arons said. "I wanted to go to a place where athletics were important and students cared about sports."\nWith his final season coming to a close, Arons hopes to finish his Hoosier career strong. Currently standing at 15-8 in singles play, Arons has helped lead the Hoosiers to an 11-5 record and hopes to help lead them to a Big Ten title.\n"Coming closer to the end, I have begun to realize that this is my last chance to play in a team environment," Arons said. "It has been a really emotional year, and I have really wanted to win. It has been sad watching it come to a close, but hopefully we will be able to finish it off with a Big Ten Championship."\nAfter graduating in May, Arons plans to return to his home state of New York, where he work in investment banking at Lehman Brothers.\nHis departure will sadden Hydinger.\n"He's a real hun," Hydinger said. "He's done such a great job of leadership, and you hate to see players like him go"