Hoosiers' win streak ends before meeting with OSU

They were just one match away from extending their seven-match winning streak. A couple points here or a break or two there would have given the Hoosiers their second win against a conference opponent in as many days. \nBut as it stands, the IU men's tennis team looks to pick up the pieces of a lost opportunity heading into Friday's match against No. 4 Ohio State.\n"I slept about four hours Sunday night," said IU coach Ken Hydinger in reference to Sunday's 4-3 loss to No. 59 Northwestern. "I was extremely disappointed about that match. We need to finish people off and not let them get back into it, and I think we need all six singles and all three doubles really in sync."\nIU disposed of Wisconsin on Saturday 4-3 thanks to junior David Bubenicek's three-set thriller against Big Ten Singles Champion Nolan Polley and an all-around team effort.\n"It shows the hard work is paying off," senior Neil Kenner said following Saturday's win. "I think the guys are stepping up and just playing good tennis right now."\nBut the Hoosiers fell into the same situation the following day. \nIU grabbed the doubles point and upped its lead to 2-0 against Northwestern, following a singles win by senior Dmytro Ishtuganov, but the lead soon dissipated. Sophomore Dara McLoughlin saw his 10-match win streak come to a screeching halt with a straight-set loss. Bubenicek and junior Arnaud Roussel also could not build on their successes of the previous day. The match was soon decided when sophomore Michael McCarthy lost in straight sets -- both tiebreakers -- in the No. 5 singles spot.\n"From those two matches (against Wisconsin and Northwestern), I learned what mistakes I made and what to do better for the future," McCarthy said. "I'll learn from it and build off of it ... but we came back to work this week. We worked on a lot of things that the team needs to get done."\nOhio State provides a challenge to the 13-7 Hoosiers. Unlike IU's one win against a nationally ranked opponent, the Buckeyes have won seven against the top 50, including a 5-2 win against then-No. 5 Illinois last weekend. Ohio State also boasts the second-best doubles tandem in the country, along with three singles players in the top 85.\nThe stinging effects of the loss to Northwestern provide valuable insight to a streaky team -- being able to take the bad with the good. Though Sunday's loss dropped IU's record to 2-3 in the Big Ten going into Friday's match against 16-1 Ohio State, the recent winning streak has left a lasting feeling of confidence.\n"There's not too much more you can do as a tennis player than give it 100 percent -- physically, mentally and emotionally," Hydinger said. "That's what you should be doing against someone that's ranked 200 or four. And being that it's the Big Ten season, we need everyone to be ready to handle the good times and ready to handle the bad times as well"