Hoosiers fall to Michigan for 2nd time in as many weeks

Revenge just wasn't enough to drive the No. 5-seed IU men's tennis team past the No. 4-seed Michigan Wolverines in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Championships. For the second time in as many weeks, the Hoosiers succumbed to the Wolverines 4-2.\n"It was unfortunate," IU coach Ken Hydinger said. "I thought they were a better indoor team than we were and their match ups worked at No. 2 and No. 3 because they got one of those points. The doubles point was a lot closer this time, and we had our chances."\nNo. 59 IU (16-10, 5-6) dropped the doubles point for the second time against No. 38 Michigan (13-10, 7-4) to start off the match, forcing the Hoosiers to play catch-up against a tough Wolverines lineup. \nMichigan boasts an All-Big Ten selection in Matko Maravic, who is also the No. 39-ranked singles player in the country. But IU senior Dmytro Ishtuganov also garnered an All-Big Ten selection -- the 36th time a Hoosier held such an honor -- and matched up against Maravic at the No. 1 singles spot. \nThe Ukraine-native went the distance with Maravic once again -- the two All-Big Ten selections went to three sets at the ITA Midwest Regional during the fall season and did the same in the Big Ten Championships. After Maravic won the first set 6-4, Ishtuganov jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set en route to a 6-4 victory. Unfortunately for Ishtuganov and the Hoosiers, Maravic claimed the top point for Michigan with a 6-0 victory in the third set.\n"Dmytro has a second or third gear," Hydinger said. "He got a lot tougher and he plays with a lot of heart. And I enjoyed watching him play out there. He came back this fall and didn't lose a challenge match all fall -- he took that responsibility."\nThe Hoosiers were able to rebound with victories at the No. 4 and No. 2 singles position. Senior Neil Kenner continued his hot streak with a straight-set victory at the No. 3 slot, his 10th straight match in improving to 19-9 overall. Kenner also received a Big Ten honor by receiving the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award nomination for IU. \n"Neil Kenner's a guy that tried to make himself the best in everything he could," Hydinger said. "He did a great job in academics, he did a great job in tennis and he never thought of himself first. He put on a real good run in the last part of his senior year."\nJunior David Bubenicek helped the Hoosiers' cause by defeating Michigan's Ryan Heller at the No. 2 position. After claiming a three-set victory during the regular season, Bubenicek beat Heller in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. The Czech Republic-native improved to 22-10 overall with his third consecutive victory and also recorded his 10th victory at the No. 2 position, while upping his dual-match mark to 16-9.\n"We had leads at both No. 1 and No. 3, but couldn't hang on," Hydinger said. "Neil (Kenner) and David (Bubenicek) both played great matches for us at No. 4 and No. 2. It was just disappointing because we had our chance, but they didn't come true for us."\nAfter Michigan claimed the No. 5 singles position in straight sets, the Wolverines won at the No. 3 position in three sets to claim the team victory. With Michigan leading 3-2, sophomore Dara McLoughlin could not contribute to the Hoosiers' cause by falling at the No. 3 position. After McLoughlin won the opening set, 7-5, he dropped the second and third sets, 6-2, 6-4, ending IU's brief run at the Big Tens. \nThe Hoosiers must now wait. The 2006 NCAA Division I Championship selection announcement will air Wednesday on ESPNEWS at 8:30 p.m.