Roussell wins Hoosier Invitational championship over weekend

Senior Arnaud Roussel defended his home court as he won the singles bracket of the Hoosier Invitational Sunday at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts. Meanwhile, senior David Bubenicek led the Hoosiers to a strong showing at the ITA Midwest Regional.\n"It felt good," Roussel said of his Hoosier Invitational victory. "It was my goal to win the tournament. Fighting and winning were all that mattered. It felt good to protect our home court."\nRoussel owned Wisconsin's squad as he defeated Gian Hodgson 2-6,6-2,6-4 to reach the semifinals and then defeated Michael Dierberger 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the finals. In the finals, he met yet another Badger, Michael Muskievicz, and won that match 4-6, 6-3,6-4 to take the Hoosier Invitational crown.\n"He's been working hard on his game," IU coach Ken Hydinger said. "The guy he played was a big offensive player and had a huge serve. I'm pleased to see him getting those results."\nRoussel countered his opponent's big serve by working on his own offensive gameplan.\n"I worked on an offensive pattern," Roussel said. "It was crucial to play offense inside, and I was able to return his serve well."\nAt the ITA Midwest Regional in Minneapolis, No. 18 seed Bubenicek won his first singles match at the tournament Saturday by beating Michigan's Andrew Mazlin 6-4,6-4 to advance to the round of 32. Bubenicek then defeated the sixth-seeded D.J. Geatz of Minnesota, 2-6, 6-4,7-6 but lost his next match against No. 10 seed Chris Klingemann of Ohio State.\nBubenicek teamed up with junior Dara McLoughlin in doubles matches, and the pair, seeded fourth in the tournament, defeated Kevin Hayward and John Pelton of Western Michigan University, 8-6. The Hoosiers advanced to the round of 16 and conquered the Notre Dame duo of Santiago Montoya and Irackli Akhvlediani, 8-2. That victory earned the pair a date with the No. 1 seeded pair from the University of Louisville, Slavko Radman and Damar Johnson. Although the twosome fell 8-6, they gained valuable experience playing against one of the best duos at the regionals, they said.\n"We were keeping up with them," Bubenicek said. "So I think that shows that we're not very far from being at the top. It showed we can play at that kind of level."\nWith the Hoosiers out of action for nearly three weeks, the break will give the team a chance to work on the areas of its game that are not up to par just yet.\n"We're playing good tennis," Hydinger said. "We're playing at a good level, but we need to get stronger. We need to do the right things better."\nIU resumes action at the Big Ten Singles Championships on Nov. 11 at the University of Michigan.