Hoosiers look to keep building momentum

The IU men’s tennis team will look to continue its winning ways when it heads to Iowa City, Iowa this weekend for its Big Ten opener.\nThe match will be held at the noon Saturday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center. This will also be the site for this year’s Big Ten Tournament, held April 24-27. \nIU’s record is 4-0 and the team has not allowed a single point in its matches thus far. Nearly all of the singles matches have been won impressively in straight sets.\nIowa’s record stands is 1-0 after defeating Northern Illinois 6-1 this past weekend. IU leads the all-time series 45-15. The Hoosiers defeated Iowa in both contests last year, the first victory coming in the regular season (6-1) and the second in the Big Ten Tournament (4-3). \nFreshman Phillip Eilers has been especially impressive this season and will play No. 1 singles for the Hoosiers on Saturday. Eilers has played the No. 1 position in three of his four starts this season. \nSenior Thomas Richter will play No. 2 singles for the Hoosiers as he and Eilers will face a tough 1-2 punch in Iowa’s senior duo of Bart van Monsjou and J.P. Ritchie. \nFollowing this weekend’s match against the Hawkeyes, the Hoosiers will face their out-of-conference rival Kentucky next week. IU will host the match, which will begin at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5.