IU will play Wisconsin on Friday and Minnesota on Sunday in Bloomington to close out its regular Big Ten season.
The Hoosiers will enter this weekend’s matches on the back of a run of four victories, which started with a 4-0 victory against No. 39 Penn State.
IU’s first opponent will be coming to Bloomington after a three-game losing run, and the Badgers are tied with the Hoosiers at sixth in the Big Ten.
“That wasn’t too long ago that we had a streak going with a few losses,” IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said. “We know how hungry they are to get back on the winning side, and they’ve had a lot of success this year. They just got to find that, and we don’t want us to be the ones that they find it on.”
Friday’s match against Wisconsin will also be the first time an IU match will be streamed live on BTN2GO.
“It’s great for the program and these seniors to be able to play in front of the cameras,” Wurtzman said. “It shows that the support we have here at IU tennis is very high, and that is important.”
Minnesota will face Purdue on Friday before coming to Bloomington. The Hoosiers lost last year’s match in Minneapolis 4-0, but the Gophers are 10th and have a 1-8 record in the Big Ten.
This weekend’s games will also be the last home games for seniors, and Wurtzman said he wants his seniors to take it as another match and not be overwhelmed by emotions. Wurtzman also said although he has not spent much time with the seniors, having only come to Bloomington last year, he appreciates their contributions to the program.
“Since I got here last January, they’ve always been willing and bought into what we are trying to build here,” Wurtzman said. “I feel like we’ve worked well together, and it’s sad to see them go.”
Wurtzman also said Monette and Bednarczyk will leave the program knowing they have created history when they won the doubles at the Ohio Valley Regionals for the first time in IU’s history.
Monette said he wants his last two home games to end on a positive note, especially since his family will be traveling from Canada, and he intends to make the most of his last two home games to create the best memories possible.
Bednarczyk’s parents will also be in attendance this weekend. He said it is a bittersweet moment, considering Sunday could potentially be the last college tennis match that his family would get to see him play.
“You’re excited to play because it’s the last time you’re competing on these courts, but then again it’s the last time,” Bednarczyk said. “I will always want to stay and compete, so it’s bittersweet, it’s tough.”
