Hoosiers drop weekend games

The IU men's tennis team can't seem to put it all together. They are fighting, but to no avail. Despite a full lineup, the Hoosiers lost 6-1 to No.19 Ohio State on Saturday and then to Penn State 4-3 on Sunday. \n"The guys fought like mad," coach Ken Hydinger said in a press release. "I felt we competed with them well on their indoor courts, but we just weren't competitive at the bottom. They (Ohio State) are a good team that has been ranked as high as No. 12."\nAgainst the Buckeyes (18-2, 7-0) IU's lone point came from freshman Jakub Praibis. He dropped Adrian Bohane 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at the No. 3 position.\n"It was really a great match for Jakub," Hydinger said. "He has been out the last few weeks with a groin pull, but he came out and beat their No. 3 guy in good fashion."\nJunior Zach Held lost a tough match, 7-6, 7-6 against the Buckeyes' Conor Casey at the No. 2 position. \n"Zach sprained his wrist and couldn't use his two-handed backhand," Hydinger said. "He played a great match using his serve and volley. He was chipping and charging, but lost a close one, 7-6, 7-6."\nIU's lone doubles win came from Held and freshman Ryan Recht. They defeated Bohane and Paul Warkentin, 8-6. In doubles, the Hoosiers featured a new lineup. Seniors Milan Rakvica and Rahman Smiley paired in doubles for the first time this season. They fell 8-4 at the No. 1 position.\nAgainst the Nittany Lions (11-10, 3-5), IU battled extremely hard. Yet they did not attain the results they were hoping for. The Hoosiers dropped the match by one point at the Sarni Tennis Center at State College, Pa. Senior Ari Widlansky defeated Clint Keithley in a third set tiebreaker 13-11. The first two sets were 7-6, 5-7 with Widlansky winning the first set at the No. 6 position. Widlansky improved to 8-5 in spring singles and 4-3 in the Big Ten. Praibis came up with another victory as well. He won 6-4, 6-4 over the Lions' Todd Stecko at the No. 2 position. Praibis has a 13-4 record in spring singles and is 3-2 in conference action.\nIU (6-14, 0-8) claimed the doubles point for only the second time in its past eleven matches, although they have been unable to have their full doubles lineup available because of injuries. Held and Recht won a close match 9-8 and Praibis and freshman Reid Strand were victorious 8-6. Held and Recht are 7-5 this season in doubles and 4-3 in the spring. Praibis and Strand improved to 6-6. Rakvica failed to climb IU's career singles and doubles wins lists. He remains tied in fifth place on the career singles wins list with 88. He lost 6-3, 6-3 to the Buckeyes and 7-6, 6-1 to the Nittany Lions.\n"I thought we had our chances to win," Hydinger said in a press release. "The guys fought hard, but we just couldn't get the job done. We don't know how to put the nail in the coffin. The only thing we know how to do now is to go back to practice, work hard, and get ready for a fight next weekend against two Michigan teams."\nThe team is back in action next weekend when it plays host to Michigan Saturday the 20th and Michigan State Sunday the 21st.