IU splits weekend home matches

The IU men's tennis team felt the effects of gusty winds swirling around the Varsity Tennis Courts during its first outdoor match of the season. After fighting off the wind and some pesky opponents, the Hoosiers defeated Wisconsin Friday, thanks in part to a come-from-behind effort by junior David Bubenicek in the No. 2 singles slot.\nAfter Bubenicek anchored the 4-3 win, the Hoosiers lost a tough 4-3 affair with No. 59 Northwestern Sunday, ending IU's eight-match winning streak.\n"That guy that David beat ... was this year's Big Ten singles champion (Nolan Polley)," said IU coach Ken Hydinger. "David has ice water in his veins and just doesn't make mistakes. He did a great job of putting the ball in play and returning an incredibly difficult lefty serve."\nThough the 4-3 victory over the Badgers was capped off by a gutsy three-set win by Bubenicek, the entire match was a team effort, Hydinger said.\nThe doubles point was lost early, as Bubenicek and freshman Peter Antons fell to the Badgers' Lachezar Kasarov and Felipe Bellido. However, senior Neil Kenner and sophomore Michael McCarthy earned their sixth straight victory, 8-1, at the No. 3 doubles slot.\nSophomore Dara McLoughlin continued to ride his hot streak at the No. 3 singles position with his 10th consecutive victory, beating Wisconsin's Brennan Phippen 7-5, 6-0.\nJunior Arnaud Roussel and Kenner took quick victories at the No. 6 and No. 4 positions in straight sets to increase the match lead to 3-1. \n"It shows the hard work is paying off," Kenner said. "Some of us grew up playing outside, but I think it's more of us just being comfortable on the court. Even if it's indoors, I think the guys are stepping up and just playing good tennis."\nRoussel rolled past Gian Hodgson, 6-3, 6-2, and Kenner earned a straight set win at No. 4 against Lachezar Kasarov, 6-2, 6-1. \nAfter dropping the first set, 6-2, to the reigning Big Ten Indoor Singles Champion, Bubenicek rallied to take the second set, 6-3, to force the deciding third. In the decisive set, Bubenicek continued to roll in the swirling conditions by picking up breaks to take 3-2 and 5-2 leads. Bubenicek then served out the match to a 6-2 win. It was the first three-set victory of the season for the Kromeriz, Czech Republic native.\n"I just tried to stay patient and wait for him to make a mistake," Bubenicek said. "I feel great right now."\nThe feeling was probably short-lived, though, as the Hoosiers lost another close match to the Wildcats. After seizing the doubles point with wins by Kenner and McCarthy -- their seventh in a row -- and seniors Dmytro Ishtuganov and McLoughlin, IU saw another nail-biter come down to two singles matches. Up 3-2 in the match after wins by Ishtuganov and Kenner, the Hoosiers needed one more point to sweep the weekend. Roussel couldn't build on his Wisconsin win, and lost in three-sets to Wildcat freshman Alexey Evstratenkov, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Needing to force a third set to pick up the rest of his Hoosier teammates, McCarthy dropped another heartbreaker, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), to Adam Schaechterle in the No. 5 singles slot. \nThe weekend left IU with a 13-7 overall record, and a 2-3 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers play host in their next match to No. 6 Ohio State on Friday.