No. 62 team suffers 1st season defeat

IU's men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season in its first meet Saturday, falling to Notre Dame in South Bend, 5-2.\nThe No. 62-ranked Hoosiers got wins in the top two positions, but were unable to win any other singles matches against the deeper Irish squad. Notre Dame also won two of the three doubles matches to claim the doubles point.\nSenior Jakub Praibis, IU's No. 1 player, won his match at the top position against sophomore Steven Bass, 6-4, 7-5. Praibis is currently ranked No. 61 in the country. The Hoosiers' other singles win came from senior Ryan Recht, who beat sophomore Barry King, 6-3, 6-3.\nPraibis was also prominently involved in IU's lone doubles win, teaming with junior Dmytro Ishtuganov at the No. 2 doubles spot. The duo defeated junior Eric Langenkamp and freshman Sheeva Parbhu 8-5. \nFreshman Michael McCarthy, whose strong fall performances highlighted the Hoosiers' fall success, faced Parbhu at the No. 4 singles spot. Each player won a set before the final set tiebreaker, which Parbhu won, 10-8.\nJunior Neil Kenner fell to Brent D'Amico, who is ranked 21st in the Midwest region. \nIU moved to 0-1 on the season, while Notre Dame improved its record to 3-0. The loss also moved the team's record to 12-7 in spring openers under coach Ken Hydinger.\nThe Hoosiers will return to action Saturday, with two home matches against Murray State and Butler at the IU Tennis Center.