Injuries derail Hoosiers after good start to season

The IU men's tennis team appeared to be on the right track at the beginning of the spring season. After winning five of their first seven matches, the Hoosiers were confident, with hopes to contend for the Big Ten regular season championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. \nUnfortunately, the Hoosiers (6-10, 0-4 Big Ten) have lost five of their past seven matches and sit winless after four conference matches. Their struggles can be traced to injuries and the fact that they play in one of the most competitive conferences in the country.\nTwo of those Big Ten opponents come to Bloomington this weekend. The Hoosiers tussle with Wisconsin Saturday and No. 20 Minnesota Sunday, both starting at noon. \nIU has been affected by a series of injuries. Senior Rahman Smiley, who has 68 career singles wins, went down with a recurring back injury six weeks ago. Junior Zach Held inured calf, and freshman Ryan Recht had a sore groin. Freshman Jakub Praibis suffered an injury and was out for the last match against Illinois. Coach Ken Hydinger said Praibis will be out this weekend but is progressing. Praibis won nine consecutive singles matches earlier this year.\n"We need to get healthy," Hydinger said. "The road hasn't been the struggle; our health has struggled. It would be a big-time pleasure to have the whole team healthy, but I don't know when that is going to be." \nSenior Milan Rakvica has lead the team through this difficult stretch. He is tied for fifth place on the IU career singles wins list with 88 and holds a 9-6 record this spring. Praibis has also played well, compiling an 11-4 record. Filling in for Praibis will probably be Held, who seems like a new player after taking a leave of absence earlier this season, missing two matches. He has been solid in doubles as well, pairing with Recht. \nThe Badgers (7-5, 1-3) lost to IU last year and feature an experienced team. Three seniors play in their usual starting singles lineup. Wisconsin coach Pat Klingelhoets is in his 19th season in Madison and holds a career record of 239-218.\n"It's a Big Ten match, and we need a Big Ten win," Hydinger said. "We are playing at home, and I know we have always had tough matches with Wisconsin." \nThe Hoosiers tangle with Minnesota (9-4, 3-1) Sunday. The Golden Gophers have a younger team than Wisconsin, and they have quite the global roster. They have players from six different countries, including Croatia, India, Russia, Switzerland and Columbia. Leading the way for the Golden Gophers are Harsh Mankad, who is 19-3, and Aleksey Zharinov, who is 22-10. Mankad is 7-2 at the No. 1 position. Zharinov is 6-1 at the No. 3 position. Minnesota, coached by David Geatz, has won the last two matches against the Hoosiers.\nSenior Ari Widlansky has been turning it on as of late for IU. He won at No. 6 singles against Purdue and paired with Rakvica to win in doubles. He is 5-4 this spring. \n"The full team and squad must stay positive with the injuries. We need to really concentrate," Widlansky said. "I need to close out points better and move closer to the net." \nThe Hoosiers have not won a road contest this spring, while they won six last year.\n"It's hard playing on the road. Lots of people are always cheering against you," freshman Efriam Kandinov said. "It's like everybody's against you. It's much different at home"