Hoosiers get it done in Big Ten opener

The No. 38 IU men’s tennis team squeaked by Minnesota on Saturday with a 4-3 victory to earn its first conference win. \nThe Hoosiers endured three 3-set matches, and senior Michael McCarthy earned his 11th singles victory of the season in a 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 win to clinch the match for IU. The squad is now 11-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play.\n“We played a real tough match and everybody fought hard,” IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “There was a lot of emotion out there.”\nIU dominated doubles play, sweeping all three matches, to gain an early 1-0 lead. \n“(Lachlan) Ferguson and (Phillip) Eilers played extremely well in the No. 1 doubles match,” Bloemendaal said. “They threw their No. 1 singles player in the No. 3 doubles match and that usually causes some problems ,but (Peter) Antons and (Santiago) Gruter overcame that.”\nFor junior Peter Antons and freshman Santiago Gruter, it was their 10th victory in 11 tries as a doubles pair this season. Their only loss came a week ago against Louisville. \n“We have to learn from what happened (against Louisville) and take the points we can get,” Antons said.\nAntons and Gruter did just that, taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes and taking the match 8-6 to complete the doubles sweep. Of the three singles matches IU won, all three were decided in the third set. \nFreshman Phillip Eilers was especially impressive, Bloemendaal said. After losing the first set 3-6, Eilers battled back to win the final two sets 6-4, 6-3 to take the point. \nGruter won his match in the No. 6 slot, and in the No. 5 slot McCarthy defeated his opponent 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.\nIU fell behind in five of its six singles matches. Gruter was the only Hoosier to come out on top after the first set. \n“We looked a little tight when we came out,” Bloemendaal said. “We are learning how to deal with being the favorite.”\nThe Hoosiers will have the upcoming week to prepare for their match in East Lansing against No. 73 Michigan State on Saturday.\n“Tough competition every match is the standard for Big Ten play,” senior Dara McLoughlin said. “We aren’t going to take any team lightly.”