Hoosiers streak snapped at 6 by OSU

After winning six matches in a row and failing to surrender a contest in a month, the IU men's tennis team suffered a streak-stopping loss at No. 33 Ohio State Saturday, 6-1.\nDespite the defeat, senior Jakub Praibis believes that he and his teammates have nothing to hang their heads about. \n"They are a very deep team all around," Praibis said of the Buckeyes. "Everyone played very close matches and played hard throughout. We need to go forward from here."\nThe Hoosiers' last loss came at the hands of then No. 28-ranked Kentucky, March 9 in Lexington, Ky. Since then, IU has defeated Southern Indiana, University of Toledo, Vincennes, Purdue, Northwestern and Wisconsin, a stretch which vaulted the squad from 4-8 to 10-8 overall. The loss moves the Hoosiers to 4-2 in the Big Ten and 10-9 on the season.\nIU began the day Saturday with a very close doubles point loss. While IU's No. 1 doubles team of John Stone and Ryan Recht fell victim to Ohio State's No. 1-ranked duo, the matches at the No. 2 and 3 positions were extremely close.\n"We were right there in doubles," said IU coach Ken Hydinger. "It was just the matter of a break or two that prevented us from taking the point."\nFrom there, IU looked to win the match in singles. At the end of the day, only Praibis, at the No. 1 singles spot, was able to garner a win.\nHydinger said the team began Saturday's singles action optimistically. \n"We came out, and everybody looked to be doing OK," he said. "We had people playing well, and everyone seemed to be getting the job done. In the end, we didn't get the job done, and Ohio State did."\nPraibis, ranked No. 49, battled illness and a slow start in his match, but was able to get a win over No. 53 Joey Atas, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. With the win, Praibis boosted his spring record to 16-3. \n"I had a really sore throat, and just didn't feel well at all," Praibis said. "Coach kept me motivated, and helped me turn my match around after my bad first set. I played pretty well once I got it going again."\nThe Hoosiers have three more dual matches before the Big Ten tournament begins at the end of April. IU will play host to Minnesota and Iowa this weekend at the IU Tennis center. Praibis looks for his team to step up and impress before the end of the Big Ten season.\n"If we can step up and get wins next weekend, we could receive a better seed for the tournament, which would help a lot," he said. "We need to really come strong and play our best tennis."\nHydinger is energized about the season's race to the finish.\n"This is an exciting time of year," he said. "Down the stretch it will be fun to watch these kids play."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.