Hoosier Net-Work

Apparently, twice is as nice. \nThe No. 61 IU men's tennis team (12-11, 6-5 Big Ten), the six seed in the Big Ten tournament, defeated No. 11 seed Iowa 4-0, the second time in as many weeks. The win advanced IU to the quarterfinals to face No. 35 Minnesota (13-8, 8-2 Big Ten), the three seed, at 1 p.m. today in East Lansing, Mich., at the Michigan State Outdoor Courts.\nThe Hoosiers started the match positively by capturing the doubles point for the ninth time, ensuring the 1-0 lead. \nThe team was forced into lineup changes in doubles because of injuries. Junior Jakub Praibis and sophomore Dmytro Ishtuganov won 8-2, staying consistent at No. 2 doubles and giving them a nine-match winning streak. At No. 3 doubles, juniors Tom Bagnato and Ryan Recht also won, 8-5. \nWarm conditions and the 20 plus mile-per-hour winds IU faced helped the team prevail against the Hawkeyes (3-17, 0-11), IU coach Ken Hydinger said.\n"We played through some very tough conditions today," Hydinger said. "Overall, I was pleased with the performance, and now we have to get ourselves ready for a tough match with Minnesota (today)."\nIU's stellar play carried into singles as the Hoosiers won the three necessary matches to clinch the win.\nAt No. 1 singles, Praibis won in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 and Bagnato clinched the match with wins in three sets 6-4, 3-6 and 6-0.\nSolid doubles paved the way for a successful afternoon, but having more intensity for the Golden Gophers will be important, sophomore Neil Kenner said.\n"Everyone though is going to have to pick their intensity, and not back down when we play tomorrow," he said.\nWhen IU and Minnesota last met, the Hoosiers fell to the Golden Gophers 7-0. It was a day of close matches, none of which IU could claim.\nMinnesota boasts a team finishing third in the conference, only after losing to the Big Ten's top two teams. The Golden Gophers have two players in the top 70 in Aleksey Zharinov and Chris Wettengel at No. 57 and 70, respectively.\nThe difference between the last time and this time will be not only the neutral court, but more importantly, IU will have the No. 51 player in the country, Praibis (14-6, 4-4 Big Ten).\nPraibis was unable to play last time because of injury and said he is looking forward to the opportunity to compete against Minnesota.\n"Last time, it was pretty close even though it was 7-0," Praibis said. "The injury is better than before; hopefully, I can play my best and make a difference against Minnesota."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.