Hoosiers beat Purdue, fall to Illini

The No. 38 IU men’s tennis team picked up its second straight win Saturday, and senior Dara McLoughlin etched his name into the record books as the Hoosiers downed the Boilermakers, 6-1. \nHowever, the weekend ended on a down note for the Hoosiers, as they lost to No. 16 Illinois on Sunday, 5-2.\nDoubles play proved to be no problem for the Hoosiers (14-6, 4-3) Saturday in West Lafayette. IU took the point, winning the No. 1 and No. 2 matches, 8-3 and 8-5, respectively. \nPaired with senior Thomas Richter, McLoughlin took down Purdue’s Branko Kuzmanovic and P.J. Pose handily. The win was the sixth straight for the Hoosier pair and the 62nd in McLoughlin’s career, placing him 10th on IU’s all-time doubles victory list.\nPoised with an early 1-0 lead, IU wasted little time in dismantling No. 75 Purdue (8-11, 2-5), winning four singles contests in straight sets to seal the deal at 5-0. \nFreshmen Lachlan Ferguson and Santiago Gruter finished first on Saturday, with 6-2, 6-4 and 6-4, 7-6 victories, respectively. Richter and freshman Phillip Eilers finished shortly after, giving the Boilermakers no chance for a comeback. Senior Michael McCarthy earned the sixth and final point for the Hoosiers in his three-set come-from-behind win over Paul Foley, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3. \nPrior to this weekend’s matches, Eilers spoke about the Boilermakers and Fighting Illini’s style of play and how he thought it would work to his advantage. \nThe Germany native was dead on in his assumption, as the freshman picked up his second singles victory of the weekend against No. 16 Illinois in the Hoosiers’ loss in Urbana, Ill. \nSunday started off rough for IU. The team dropped the No. 3 doubles match in extra sets, allowing Illinois to take a 1-0 lead. \nAfter Eilers tied the match at one a piece, Illinois took the next two singles matches, stretching its lead to 3-1. In the No. 1 singles match, Richter fell in straight sets to No. 90 Ruben Gonzales, 6-3, 6-2. McCarthy also dropped his match in straight sets at the hands of Illinois’ Waylon Chin, 6-2, 6-4.\nIU earned its only other point of the day thanks to Gruter’s victory in the No. 6 slot over Illinois’ Connor Roth, 7-5, 6-4. \nThe Hoosiers return to the courts next Saturday when they head to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the No. 15 Wolverines.