Hoosiers lose season opener

The No. 22 IU men’s tennis team started off their season with a match against the No. 40 North Carolina State Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. Despite having an early 2-0 lead, the Hoosiers lost 4-3.

Indiana was able to create an early lead because of their doubles points. Sophomore Isade Juneau and senior Josh MacTaggart won the first doubles match 8-6. Freshman Daniel Bednarczky and freshman Sam Monette won the second doubles match 8-0, giving Indiana one point.

Juneau was the first to win his singles match, winning in three sets against N.C.

State’s Dave Thompson, putting the Hoosiers up 2-0. After Juneau’s win against Thompson, the Wolfpack won the next three singles matches against Indiana’s Dimitrije Tasic, Mactaggart and Monette. N.C. State was leading the Hoosiers 3-2 before Bednarczky defeated Sean Weber in two sets, evening the score at three.

After Bednarczky won his match against Weber, there was only one match left in play.

Freshman Elliot Yee was squaring up against N.C. State’s Simon Norenius. He fell behind early in the first set, losing 6-2. Yee tried to rally back in the second set but still came up short, losing 6-4, giving the Wolfpacks another point, who won 4-3.

The Hoosiers were not able to squeeze out a victory Monday, but Head Coach Randy Bloemendaal was able to create a victory of his own during the weekend. Bloemendaal signed two players for next season. Edward Nguyen out of Montreal and Blake Anthony from Los Angeles will be playing for the Hoosiers at the start of the 2013-14 season.

Both players bring valuable experience to the team. Nguyen picked up his experience from playing international tennis. He was once ranked No. 1 in the U14’s world rankings. He was the U16 singles champion and won the U18 national doubles indoor and outdoor titles. Monette and Bednarczyk have already spent time playing with Nguyen.

Nguyen is already a pretty decorated tennis player, currently ranked No. 99 by the International Tennis Federation and ranked in the top three of Canada’s tennis players.

Bloemendaal is looking forward to see his contributions to the team next year.

“I am very excited about our new additions to our tennis program,” he said. “Both players bring in the attributes required to accomplish our future goals.”

Anthony played varsity singles for Loyola High School as a freshman and was
nominated the most outstanding singles player award. His tennis skills have allowed him to be ranked in the top 25 players of Southern California and ranked in the top 115 in the USTA. Anthony made it to the USTA National Open Doubles Finals and won the Georgia Regional 18’s at age 16. Bloemendaal said he sees plenty of potential in this young athlete.

“Blake is a late bloomer with a lot of upside,” he said. “He loves the game and has been making steady progress over the last few months.”

Both Nguyen and Anthony will be looking to help Indiana succeed in the upcoming season, but for now Bloemendaal and the Hoosiers will be focusing on their home meet against Kentucky and Wright State on Wednesday.