Defending Big Ten champs down Hoosiers with ease

In its first outdoor home match of the season, the No. 39 IU men’s tennis team fell to No. 2 Ohio State, 6-1. With this loss, the Hoosiers drop to 12-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.\nThe Buckeyes, the defending Big Ten champions, improved to 21-1 this season and are 4-0 in conference play. The victory marked their 30th consecutive conference win. \n“We had leads in all three doubles matches and early in our singles matches,” IU coach Randy Bloemendaal said. “Then we just backed off.”\nThe talented Ohio State team got off to an early start, taking two of the three doubles matches to lead 1-0. In the No. 2 doubles match, seniors Dara McLoughlin and Thomas Richter won a tight battle, 9-7.\n“I think a lot of it was in our head,” junior Peter Antons said. “I thought we had our match, and then we just tightened up.”\nFreshman Lachlan Ferguson was a bright spot for IU on a day when not much went right, earning the Hoosiers’ only point. Ferguson downed Ohio State’s Shuhei Uzawa in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6). \n“I played real well offensively and didn’t allow my opponent to push me back,” Ferguson said. “I like coming forward; it fits my game.”\nIn the No. 6 slot, freshman Chris Foster got his first start of the year for the Hoosiers. Foster fell in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.\n“Chris will be a big winner for this program,” Bloemendaal said. “I have a lot of faith that he will get the job done.”\nThe Hoosiers will spend the rest of the week preparing for their Big Ten doubleheader this weekend against Wisconsin and Northwestern.\n“There was no difference in skill level today,” Bloemendaal said. “We need to make winning a habit and find some sort of intrinsic motivation.”