Team finishes out home schedule

The IU men's tennis team left its home court for the last time of the season Saturday. But, unfortunately for the team, it was after its seventh straight loss.\nAlthough the Hoosiers dropped the 7-0 match to the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Illinois, interim coach Matt Pledger said he was proud of his team's play.\n"Honestly, losing 7-0 today felt so much better than losing 6-1 to Purdue yesterday," Pledger said. "It was like a different team today because the guys played so tough. The only thing is that it should not take playing the No. 1 team in the country to get this type of effort. I am really proud of these guys because we have been in a slump lately with a lot of tough matches. It was good to see the guys play with as much energy and heart as they did today in a loss."\nAlthough the Hoosiers were unable to win a point against the Fighting Illini, the team did have its bright points as the No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Ryan Recht and freshman John Stone defeated the No. 6 ranked doubles team in the nation, Illinois' Michael Calkins and Amer Delic. Sophomore Jakub Praibis lost a hard fought singles match against the No. 14 player in the nation, Illinois' Rajeev Ram, who won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.\nWith the win, Illinois clinched the Big Ten title, accomplishing something Illinois coach Craig Tiley was very proud of. \n"It's great to clinch another Big Ten championship," he said. "Of course, we want to finish the job tomorrow (against Purdue), and we have goals beyond that."\nThe Hoosiers other match this weekend occurred on Friday as the team lost to rival and No. 50 ranked Purdue 6-1. \nThe lone win for the Hoosiers came from Recht, who beat the Boilermakers' Seth McKinley 7-6, 6-2 to account for the Hoosiers only point of the weekend. Purdue coach Tim Madden said he was pleased with his team's performance.\n"We played a great match from top to bottom today," Madden said. "Everyone came out focused and ready, and that clearly shows in the results. Usually we have one or two guys stand out in each match, but everyone gave it everything they had."\nThe Hoosiers will now prepare for Thursday when the team heads to Evanston, Ill., for the Big Ten Championships.