Men’s tennis team to play Nebraska, Iowa

IU (12-12, 1-4) is 0-5 on the road this season, but IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal said he thinks his team will turn it around this weekend.

After winning its first Big Ten match last weekend No. 69 IU travels to No. 66 Nebraska and unranked Iowa for an opportunity to win its first road match.

“We’ve tweaked a few things on the road that have helped us out quite a bit,” Bloemendaal said. “We still haven’t performed at the level that I think we’re capable of.”

The Hoosiers might also have the advantage of sophomore Samuel Monette in the lineup this weekend. Monette was sidelined by an elbow injury last weekend against Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Monette has alternated time between No. 1 and No. 2 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. The sophomore is the No. 93 singles player in the country. Neither Iowa nor Nebraska have any ranked singles players.

The Canada native pairs with sophomore Daniel Bednarczyk to form the No. 66 doubles team in the country. Once again, neither the Cornhuskers nor the Hawkeyes have any ranked doubles pairings.

This potential return could also have an effect on the entire doubles lineup. Before losing both doubles points last weekend, IU had won 14 of 20 doubles points.

Bloemendaal said winning that doubles point becomes even more important on the road than at home for his team. Part of the team’s struggle last weekend was its difficulty adjusting to playing outdoors.

“As much as our team is built for playing outdoors in singles, in doubles I really build them around quick stuff so it helps them more indoors than outdoors,” Bloemendaal said. “Once we make those adjustments in doubles, we’re there.”

Though IU is currently in last place in the Big Ten, wins against Nebraska (9-9, 1-3) and Iowa (9-7, 1-3) could propel the Hoosiers as high as fourth.

Bloemendaal said he recognizes the magnitude of this weekend, but remains cautious of both Iowa and Nebraska.

He said Friday’s match against Nebraska could come down to the weather conditions.
“I’ve looked at some of their outdoor stuff, and it wasn’t very impressive,” Bloemendaal said. “If we play indoors, I think it will be a tough day for us against Nebraska.”

Sunday’s opponent, Iowa, is 8-0 at home this season. Bloemendaal said he recognizes the challenge but still thinks his team can win.

“Iowa is a little bit tricky because they’re really good at the bottom,” Bloemendaal said. “They’ve got a couple holes in their lineup no matter how they shake it up. In doubles, they’ve been mixing it up a lot.”

Bloemendaal said he feels good about last week’s win coupled with his team’s progression the last few weeks.

“I’m pretty optimistic about this weekend, honestly,” Bloemendaal said. “The other road matches at the start, it was a building process. But right now, I think we’re close to putting it all together.”?