Hoosiers drop Big Ten opener to Northwestern

When the Hoosiers took the court Friday against Northwestern in their Big Ten opener, it once again turned into a "Maalox Moment," as the match wasn't decided until the end. But the Hoosiers fell short to the Wildcats 4-3, to fall to 5-5 on the year and 0-1 in the Big Ten.\nThis is the second loss in a row for IU, and its fourth loss this season by a score of 4-3. All of the losses during the five-match homestand were by the same 4-3 score.\nThe Hoosiers seemed to have the momentum early in the match as they held their annual "Dinner with Doubles." The crowd of 250 was the largest of the season and was a major factor during the doubles matches, junior Tom Bagnato said, as IU was able to win the doubles point to get the early 1-0 lead in the match.\n"In the doubles, they seemed to be pretty rambunctious crowd," Bagnato said. "I don't think any of us have played to a crowd like this before, and I think it helped us."\nThough the Hoosiers were able to strike first by getting the doubles point, the Hoosiers were unable to capitalize, dropping four of the six singles matches.\nIn dropping those four matches, IU for the first time all season dropped No. 1 and 2 singles. Juniors Jakub Praibis and Ryan Recht were both involved in three set matches but were unable to come away with wins. Many of the matches were close throughout the night, as five of the six singles matches were three-setters. \nOne of the winners was sophomore John Stone (8-4), who is on a seven-match winning streak, including a win over Adam Schaechterle of Northwestern, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.\nWith the loss against Northwestern, the main thing for the Hoosiers will be to remain focused and stay headstrong for the rest of the year, Stone said.\n"We have got to keep a positive attitude and not lose faith," Stone said. "Once that happens, the season is over. That is what happened last year when we started 3-0 in the Big Ten and then lost seven in a row."\nThe match against Northwestern was the conclusion of a five-match homestand for IU in which they finished 2-3 and marks the beginning of a three-match stretch away from the IU Tennis Center.\nThe Hoosiers will start at 2 p.m. Wednesday, when they will battle the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats (6-3) in Lexington, Ky., at the Hillary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex. This will also kick off the start of the outdoor tennis season for IU.\n"I think we are little bit better outdoors than we are indoors," IU coach Ken Hydinger said.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.