Richter, McLoughlin reach quarterfinals

Six IU tennis players, three of whom were seeded in the 64-player draw, competed in the Big Ten Singles Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich., this past weekend. \nPrior to the tournament, IU head coach Randy Bloemendaal said he expected senior Thomas Richter to be a top-16 seed, but due to the absence of several of the conference’s top players, senior Dara McLoughlin and freshman Phillip Eilers also were among the top players in the field.\nAll three made it through to the second round, but it was a struggle early for the 9th-seeded McLoughlin, who need a third set to defeat Penn State’s Guillaume St-Maurice, which he did 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.\nIU junior Peter Antons and freshmen Jai Yoon and Santiago Gruter were not as fortunate, however. Each fell in straight sets in their opening matches. Yoon put up the biggest fight, taking the No. 10 seed, Tobias Wernet of Minnesota, to a second set tie-breaker before losing 6-3, 7-6 (6).\nIn the second round of the main draw, the 2nd-seeded Richter ousted Mike DePietro of Michigan, while McLoughlin took down Michigan’s Chris Madden and the 12th-seeded Eilers earned a win against Wisconsin’s Mike Dierberger.\nIn round three, Richter and McLoughlin were both victorious in two sets, but Eilers fell just short, losing 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2) to Mike Sroczynki of Michigan, the 92nd-ranked player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason rankings.\nLooking to reach the semifinals for the third year in a row, McLoughlin faced his second Wolverine opponent of the tournament, Jason Jung. Jung, the No. 6-seed and 124th player in the nation, was victorious on his home court, defeating McLoughlin 6-4, 6-4.\nRichter, meanwhile, faced a familiar opponent in his quarterfinal match. Last April, Richter defeated Wisconsin’s Nolan Polley 7-6, 6-2, but this time around, the tournament’s fifth seed and nation’s 101st-ranked player avenged his loss and defeated Richter easily, 6-3, 6-1.\nIt was a disappointing finish for Richter, who had hopes of winning the last fall tournament of his career, especially seeing that he was seeded second without the top players from Ohio State or Illinois in the field.\nIn the consolation, meanwhile, Gruter lost in a third set super tie-breaker in his first match, while Antons and Yoon each won a match before falling to the same opponent, Michigan’s DePietro.\n IU’s next competition will begin Dec. 30 at the Clemson Winter Shootout in South Carolina.