Hoosiers close season at Big Ten tourney

This weekend's Big Ten Singles Championships will not only mark the end of the fall season for the IU men's tennis team, it will also serve as a short-term rubric for piecing together an ever-evolving Hoosier lineup.\n"We've been having a good fall practice," said IU head coach Ken Hydinger. "If we want to be a team that wants to be a real contender and not a pretender, somewhere down the line we have to start winning matches."\nThe tournament will take place at the Michigan State Indoor Tennis Facility Friday to Monday in East Lansing, Mich., with all 11 Big Ten teams participating. The conference had eight programs ranked among the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top 75 team rankings last season and currently has 14 players ranked among the top 125 nationally. \n"I believe that tennis is a mind game through body frames, and so this is a capable group," Hydinger said. "But at the same time, I can see each of our guys doing something special this weekend."\nThe Hoosiers have been fairly successful against Big Ten opponents in previous matches during this fall season. Sophomore Dara McLoughlin defeated Marc Spicijaric of Illinois, 6-3, 7-5, who was ranked No. 115 in the preseason ITA singles poll, at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. \nSophomore Michael McCarthy defeated Illinois' Brandon Davis, 6-4, 6-2, and Lachezar Kasarov of Wisconsin, 6-0, 6-3, before bowing out to Christian Tempke of Northwestern, 6-0, 7-6 (7), at the Midwest Regional as well. McLoughlin, McCarthy, senior Neil Kenner and junior David Bubenicek all defeated Michigan State Spartans at the Cincinnati Collegiate Invitational in September.\nFor Kenner, this weekend's tournament is the last chance he has at winning a Big Ten singles title. Last year, he did not participate in the event due to injury and his sophomore year featured a second-round exit.\n"I want to do as well as I can and make a statement," Kenner said. "I want to prove something to myself and to everybody. This is the healthiest I've been going in to this tournament. So hopefully I can make this one the best one."\nBubenicek, who amassed a 7-3 record in Big Ten play last season, will look to improve on his 4-1 singles record.\n"I've been working on my serve and my net game," he said. "I'm a little healthier than I was during the last tournament, and if I stay healthy I think I can do damage."\nFollowing this weekend's tournament, the Hoosiers will have a long layoff until they begin the dual match season in January. But for right now, IU singles has their minds set on making some moves within the Big Ten.\n"Every time you walk onto the court," Hydinger said, "that's your craft, that's your job, and your game ought to be the most important thing at that point in time. If you're a tennis player, you have got to be playing with pride"