Striving to stay perfect

The Hoosiers' fast success and 3-0 start so far this season has surprised even themselves. After stunning both Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee State this past weekend, the men's tennis team's confidence level must be high.\n"We knew we had a very good chance of beating them," sophomore Ryan Recht said of the team's matches against Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee State. "We went in with the intention of winning."\nInterim coach Matthew Pledger said this weekend's match against North Carolina State could be difficult, if only because the team doesn't really know what to expect.\n"They have a new coach and a young team," Pledger said. "We could come in and surprise them."\nNorth Carolina State's team has a total of seven players, including two freshmen new to the team.\nThe Hoosiers will be ready regardless of who their opponent is, Recht said.\n"We're going to prepare well this week, and take them very seriously," Recht said.\nThe team shouldn't get too confident based on their fast start, as some of their victories were close, and nagging injuries are beginning to mount, Pledger said. The team is preparing for a spring schedule in which seven of 22 dual matches are against teams ranked in the national top 30. \n"(In our match) against Tennessee, it seemed like we blew them up, but it was much closer than the scores indicated," Pledger said. "The guys have been sore from our practices (in preparation for Tennessee), so we're taking it easy for now."\nThe match against North Carolina State will be at 11 a.m. this Saturday. After Saturday's match, the Hoosiers will be back in action at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 at the IU Tennis Center when they host No. 46 Louisville.