IU looks to improve with weekend home matches

Playing off the words of IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, Ken Hydinger realizes his men's tennis squad is not going to be an April team here in January. Despite two convincing victories Monday, the Hoosier coach knows his players can get better. Among other things, he mentioned the need for improvement in conditioning, serve returns and poaching in doubles, in addition to ball striking. \n"They're working on the game; it's a progression," Hydinger said. "I would certainly hope that in the next three months, as we're playing tennis and doing individual lessons, we're going to be a heck of a lot better in three months than we are now. I mean, that's the battle plan anyway."\nThe next step in that progression begins Saturday when the Hoosiers host Toledo and Murray State, a pair of teams IU easily beat last season.\nOn Monday, IU defeated Morehead State and IPFW, 6-1 and 7-0, respectively. Junior Thomas Richter, who against Morehead State lost the lone singles match as well as a doubles match with junior Dara McLoughlin, was satisfied with the team's overall performance.\n"I think all the guys did pretty well," Richter said. "They showed a strong effort. Myself, I was a bit disappointed about my first two matches ... I think it was a good team effort, and that's why we won."\nNo. 4 singles player junior Michael McCarthy, arguably the most dominant player in Monday's matches, said that he was pleased with the way he played, but knows that he and his teammates are not quite where they need to be.\n"There's room for improvement," McCarthy said. "You kind of build on each match, especially with these doubleheaders. They're not Big Ten matches, but they're getting us toward the Notre Dames and the Ohio States."\nHydinger knows that Saturday's opponents will be tougher than Morehead State and IPFW, but his concentration is on neither Toledo nor Murray State -- rather it's on his own players.\nThe Hoosiers are led by senior David Bubenicek and McLoughlin. On Wednesday, Bubenicek was named Big Ten Player of the Week -- the first Hoosier to garner the award since Jakub Praibis in Feb. 2005. McLaughlin, the No. 2 singles player, is 8-3 on the year in singles and 6-2 in doubles. \nSaturday's match versus Toledo begins at 10 a.m. at the IU Tennis Center, while the Murray State match is scheduled for 4 p.m.