IU seals No. 3 spot after splitting weekend matches

Seven days before the Big Ten championships, the IU men's tennis team ended its regular season run by splitting its last weekend on the road, losing to No. 64 Michigan, 5-2, before bouncing back and taking down Michigan State, 6-1.\nThe Hoosiers, who ended the season 12-11 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten, could have sealed a No. 3 seed for the Big Ten tournament by sweeping the weekend. Instead, IU remains unsure of its final ranking until the seeds are released. \nRegardless of the final Big Ten tourney seed, IU coach Ken Hydinger was pleased with the way his team rebounded from Saturday's tough loss. \n"We had to play indoors up there, and it ended up being a very difficult match," he said. "It was a disappointing one to lose. To travel over to East Lansing on Sunday though and come out and play well was great for this team."\nIU began Saturday's action by losing all three doubles matches in tight fashion, two of which came down to a 17th game tiebreaker. \nIn singles, Michigan retained control of the match, with only sophomore David Bubenicek and junior John Stone able to gain wins for the Hoosiers. Michigan won the four remaining contests to seal the victory.\nOn Sunday, IU bounced back by wrestling the doubles point away from the Spartans with victories from the teams of senior Ryan Recht and Stone, and freshmen Michael McCarthy and Dara McLoughlin. \nIU continued its surge in singles play, highlighted by Stone's convincing second win of the weekend at the No. 5 spot. Senior Jakub Praibis, IU's No. 1 player, recovered from Saturday's challenges individually by winning 6-2, 6-3. The No. 57-ranked Praibis moved his record to 22-9 on the year, and 18-5 in dual competition. \n"We really came out and controlled the entire match against Michigan State," Hydinger said. "We weren't able to do that on Saturday, but we came back and gave the effort we need here today."\nHydinger raved about the depth of the Big Ten throughout the season.\n"There are a lot of 4-3 matches in this league," he said. "You don't have to play poorly necessarily to lose."\nIU will resume its preparation for the Big Ten tournament in practice Tuesday and Wednesday before the competition's Thursday start. Hydinger claims the preparation will be almost all mentality-related.\n"At this point in the season, and with the short week, it's about getting your head right," he said. "It's a challenge, but something the guys have to do."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at eabrenna@indiana.edu.