Hoosiers continue quest for NCAA bid

IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal and the men’s tennis team will be continuing its quest for a NCAA Tournament bid this weekend against the Minnesota Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers. The Hoosiers are currently on a five-game winning streak after winning five consecutive home games.

The Hoosiers will be traveling on the road this weekend where they have struggled all season. IU is traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., Friday for another Big Ten Conference showdown.

“Minnesota is playing well and they have been doing well in the Big Ten,” Bloemendaal said.

The Gophers have a 5-2 conference record and are currently 5-2 at home. Minnesota has won its last three home matches and will be looking to push it to four against IU.  The Gophers are coming off of a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes last weekend. Indiana competed against Ohio State earlier in the season and lost 7-0 as well. The Hoosiers conference record is 7-2 and a win over the Gophers would help them move up in the conference standings.

“It is always a tough match with us, so I am expecting another really good match with Minnesota,” Bloemendaal said.

Once the Hoosiers are finished in Minneapolis, their next stop will be Madison, Wis., to compete against the Badgers on Saturday. The Badgers are 10-9, having all ten of their victories come out of their backyard. However, Wisconsin is currently on a seven game losing streak and hasn’t won a home match since March.

However, Bloemendaal said he does not believe that Wisconsin will just lie down.

“Wisconsin has been a little bit down but every road victory in the Big Ten is tough,” he said.

Bloemendaal has expressed how important his two seniors, Josh MacTaggart and Isade Juneau, are in close matches and said he will need them this weekend. It was a big weekend for MacTaggart at home last weekend as he became the second player in Hoosiers’ history to win 100 doubles matches, but he said playing on the road is a different feeling.

“It is definitely different mentally, going on the road,” MacTaggart said. “You really can’t relax at all, we are a lot more in the comfort zone at home.”

Competition will start for the Hoosiers in Minneapolis at 4 p.m. EDT Friday and will pick back up on Saturday in Wisconsin at 2 p.m. EDT.