By Lionel Lim
IU’s four-match win streak ended Sunday when it lost 5-2 at Notre Dame. The loss came after two wins Friday at home against Ball State and Washington.
Notre Dame took the doubles point when the teams of Eddy Covalschi and Alex Lawson, and Grayson Broadus and Quentin Monaghan beat IU pairs, seniors Samuel Monnette and Daniel Bednarczyk, and senior Chris Essick and junior Stefan Lugonjic.
IU freshmen Antonio Cembellin and Afonso Salgado won their singles matches to put two points on the board for the Hoosiers.
However, sophomore Raheel Manji, Bednarczyk and junior Matthew McCoy failed to win their respective matches and earn points for IU.
No. 27 Monette’s run of six consecutive wins in singles matches was also brought to an end when he lost to No. 37 Monaghan 6-1, 6-1.
The loss was the first since the spring season’s opening weekend.
On Friday, the Hoosiers beat Ball State 4-0 in the afternoon before beating Washington 5-2 in the evening.
The Huskies, who lost to the Hoosiers 4-3 at Washington last season, gave the Hoosiers a run for their money at the IU Tennis Center.
“It was a very tough match and that is what we were expecting,” IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “They are a tough team and we were able to grit out a win, which shows a lot of character in our team.”
This character was evident in the score line. McCoy, Manji and Salgado dropped a set against Washington but were still able to win their respective matches.
Emotions were running high for McCoy, and he lost a point due to his over-exuberance in contesting a decision in the last set.
“It was a pretty tough match for me because, first of all, we really wanted to get a good team win because our goal is to get into the NCAA tournament,” McCoy said. “I played that guy last year and lost in straight sets, and I really wanted to turn it this time.”
The Hoosiers got the doubles points against Washington before Monette gave the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead.
Sebastian Hawken got a point for the Huskies when he beat Cembellin 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Salgado then helped the Hoosiers to a 3-1 lead up when he beat Piers Foley 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
Moments later, McCoy let out a scream as he got the fourth point and the clincher for IU.
The two teams then played out their remaining matches and Bednarczyk lost to Jake Douglas 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and Manji beat Enzo Sommer 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“What we are striving for is to never give in and if we get down sets to not panic and compete and fight back,” Wurtzman said. “It’s great that it showed in our results today.”
