Purdue Invitational next on dockett for IU

While junior Ryana Recht was participatiing in last week's qualifying rounds of the Icy Hot American Championships, the rest of Hoosiers were at home waiting to hit the courts. This weekend will be their first chance at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette.\nOther teams participating in the tournament over the weekend besides IU and Purdue include Big Ten foe Northwestern along with Toledo and Western Michigan from the Mid-American Conference and Butler.\nThe tournament, which is in hidden dual format, consists of round-robin play which will allow all players at least three singles matches and three double matches as well.\nPlaying in the Purdue Invitational will allow the team play against other competition and to prepare for the other fall tournaments, IU coach Ken Hydinger said.\n"We got some big tournaments coming, with regional championships next week," Hydinger said. "So this gets guys some real matches under their belt and get them match tough, and get them ready for that tournament and the Big Ten Singles Championships at the end of the fall."\nComing into this tournament, junior Tom Bagnato, who finished last season with a 6-8 record in singles and a 0-1 record in doubles, has high expectations despite not playing a match since April.\n"I'm looking to do some damage and to play against other competition," Bagnato said. "This tournament will give me a barometer on where I am at so far, and let me know what I need to do to improve."\nGetting the opportunity to work on different facets of his game has sophomore John Stone expecting positive results out of this weekend, especially in doubles.\n"In doubles, I'm looking to win every match, because I am a better doubles player," Stone said. "I am also just hoping to play the best I can and get some good singles work in as well."\nAs one of four juniors on the team this year, Bagnato feels that his experience should play a big role in his success not only in the Purdue Invitational, but also for the rest of the season, as he has the potential to become one of the top singles players in the Big Ten.\n"Playing in singles competition, I can definitely play," Bagnato said. "I have seen a lot of good competition, and I feel I can become one of the top players in the Big Ten."\nHaving the opportunity to play against different competitors, outside the team members is one of things to look forward to in playing in the Purdue Invitational, Stone said.\n"It will be good to see different teams from different conferences playing different styles," Stone said. "The tournament can help give us a taste of what we might face in the upcoming season, especially with both Northwestern and Purdue, since both lost significant players from last year."\nThough all the lineups are not completely set, the singles lineup should look like this: No. 1 sophomore Neil Kenner, No. 2 freshman David Bubenicek, No. 3 Bagnato, No. 4 junior Ryan McCarthy, No. 5 Stone, No. 6 sophomore Dmytro Ishtuganov, and No. 7 freshman Krishne Tanna.\n"(Our) main goals are just to compete well, have the players play their game, and let the chips fall where they may," Hydinger said.\nThe Hoosiers will begin play at 9 a.m. Saturday against Toledo in doubles action and will start singles play against Western Michigan at 12:15 p.m. Play will continue through Sunday.