Doubles duo makes national rankings

Being friends on the court is part of the territory when it comes to playing sports for any team. But the friendship sophomore John Stone and junior Ryan Recht have off the court has led to success on the tennis courts as they achieved the No. 49 national ranking in doubles in late February.\nIn the season thus far, the Hoosier tandem has compiled a record of 10-4 at the No. 1 doubles slot for the Hoosiers. They have done this against some of the top competition in the country and were able to pull off an upset earlier in the season, before they were nationally ranked in defeating Middle Tennessee State's No. 30, Trevor Short and Kirk Jackson 8-4 Jan. 24.\nBefore they achieved national-ranking status, they began the season ranked No. 13 in the Midwest Region and were able to defeat the No. 9 team in the Midwest from Ball State 9-7 -- which paced the Hoosiers in the victory over the Cardinals.\nBeing nationally ranked was a nice feeling for Stone and Recht in light of the hard work from the fall season and carrying it over into a successful start in the regular season, Recht said.\n"It was a great feeling going through that list and to see our names on there," Recht said. "I wasn't expecting it right away, but it was a good feeling."\nThis isn't the first time the duo played together, as they were able to finish out the regular season as partners last year and were able to compile a 5-6 record, including 3-3 in the Big Ten.\nTheir success wasn't limited to the scholastic year, as Recht and Stone advanced to the semifinals of the ITA National Summer Championships last summer in Bloomington.\nA consensus opinion between both the players and IU coach Ken Hydinger is that the turning point came in April of last year when the pair defeated the No. 6 doubles team in the country, Michael Calkins and Amer Delic from Illinois 8-6 in April.\nThe victory provided them with the knowledge they know they're able to compete on a national level, Stone said.\n"We knew that we could beat anyone," Stone said.\nDealing with the pressure of being ranked nationally is one both Recht and Stone are enjoying.\nHandling the pressure well has been something they've done in the midst of trying to get into the NCAA Tournament by playing consistently and being ready to play each time out.\nWith the ranking comes the challenge of defending it each time out and being a marked target for all opponents, Recht said.\n"You can tell every doubles match they are coming out to get you," Recht said. "Everyone knows you are ranked so they are gunning for you, and you just have to take every match the same -- by being prepared and real focused."\nPlaying doubles tennis involves a lot of trust while being able to compliment each other -- on and off the court.\nBy having a solid friendship off the court, which stems from playing junior tennis together, Recht and Stone have developed a confidence in each other on the court.\nBy seeing each other off the court every day and on the court in practice, the tandem has not only gotten stronger in the friendship department, but also in the tennis department.\n"Being friends off the court makes playing doubles together a lot easier," Hydinger said. "When you like somebody and respect someone, you want to play for them and they want to play for you. And that makes for a real strong team."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.