The IU men’s tennis team had a rough afternoon.
The Hoosiers got off to a rough start on the road by losing the doubles point. They never recovered.
The No. 44 Hoosiers were blanked by No. 6 Illinois 7-0 Sunday on the road at the Atkins Tennis Center. After having an extended period of rest, the Hoosiers were poised to come out strong. However, their rest and momentum they had gained by beating Murray State and Oregon on Feb. 6 proved futile against the Fighting Illini.
“I think this is a good learning experience,” said IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman. “I think we will be a stronger team from a match like this.”
IU (6-2) had a four game winning streak coming into their match against Illinois. However, all four of those wins came at home. While the Hoosiers have had a strong start to their season, the Fighting Illini have too and appeared to have better chemistry Sunday in Champaign.
“Their players played very well and their fans were extremely loud,” Wurtzman said. “They exposed some of our weaknesses.”
Illinois (11-2) boasted a squad of nationally ranked players that made life difficult for the road team. In addition, the road atmosphere in Illinois made it difficult on the Hoosiers.
“They had a lot of confidence coming into the match,” Wurtzman said. “They have a great college environment at their court.”
While the Hoosiers would typically have time to return home and practice, they will be forced to adapt by making adjustments in game. IU will look to rebound quickly from this loss.
“We won’t have much time to think about this,” Wurtzman said. “We have to work on being able to come up with different ways to beat players when our A game isn’t working well.”
The Hoosiers travel to Louisville to play a doubleheader Wednesday against Toledo at 1:30 E.T and then against Louisville at 6:00.
