IU tries for ninth straight win

The men's tennis team will look to add to a season- opening eight game winning streak this weekend when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., to battle Vanderbilt. The Hoosiers are trying to keep their confidence up before they walk onto the court to play against a team ranked No. 28. \nBut interim coach Matt Pledger said he isn't nervous about this weekend's match. Pledger's squad has already defeated No. 41 Northwestern and No. 27 Notre Dame on the road.\n"Playing on the road always makes it difficult," Pledger said. "(But) I feel we can go in there and do what we've been doing, and surprise them."\nSophomore Ryan Recht said he is optimistic about the weekend. "We're a very strong team," Recht said. "We've had good road wins so far."\nFreshman John Stone said he is confident the team will regain the form it displayed in its previous upset wins. \n"I have faith in our coaching and in our players to beat Vanderbilt," Stone said. "We are the underdog, and we already beat the 27th ranked team."\nStone said the team is now improving with each meet, something that was missing from the fall season.\n"I think we have a completely better attitude," Stone said. "(In the fall) it didn't seem like we were getting any better. Now, even though we're 8-0, we still have so much more room for improvement."\nRecht said the team has been correcting the problems that plagued them in the fall. \n"We've been focusing on problems we were having first semester," Recht said. "We've been focusing on our weaknesses and making them strengths."\nPledger has been a big influence in the team's change in attitude, Stone said. \n"He is unbelievably positive," Stone said. "(Pledger) brings a lot to the table because he just came off the pro tour. He knows what he's talking about."\nStone said the team's strategy so far has been concentrating on winning the doubles point to lower the pressure on the singles players. But that may be difficult this weekend as Vanderbilt has not lost a doubles point yet. Pledger said he still thinks his team can log another win. \n"I think we can go down this weekend and pull off another upset," he said.\nThe match begins at 1 p.m. Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.