IU broke its 11-match losing streak when it beat Michigan State 6-1 on Sunday in East Lansing, Michigan.
The Hoosiers got the doubles point when seniors Elliott Yee and Daniel Bednarczyk beat Ivan Rakic and Alexander Kim 6-2 at No. 3 doubles and sophomore Raheel Manji and freshman Afonso Salgado beat Jasper Koenen and Billy Shisler 7-5 at No. 2 doubles.
“It definitely gave us momentum going into the singles,” Yee said. “Great feeling to get the second doubles points in a row. Gave us more fire and energy to get the job done knowing that we are already up one point and get our first W in a long time. “
There was a slight reshuffle in the lineups as Manji started at No. 1 singles, freshman Antonio Cembellin moved up to No. 4 singles and Yee played at No. 5 singles.
Senior Chris Essick earned the Hoosiers their second point when he beat Rakic 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 singles, and Yee followed up with a 7-5, 6-0 victory against Shisler at No. 5 singles.
“It was a great victory,” Yee said. “Every chance that I get, I will make the most of it. Every time I play I need to make an impact, and repetition makes success. Every time I get a chance, I will use that for success and skill and get better as a tennis player.”
Manji then got the clincher when he beat Mac Roy 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
The two teams played out the rest of their matches, and junior Matthew McCoy beat Koenen 7-6, 6-3 at No. 3 singles and Bednarczyk fell to Michael Dube 3-6, 6-4 1-0 at No. 2 singles. Cembellin capped the day when he beat Kim 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 at No. 4 singles.
The Hoosiers rebounded from their 4-1 loss to Michigan on Friday to snap a run of 11 losses.
In Friday’s match, the Hoosiers got the doubles point when seniors Sam Monette and Bednarczyk beat Alex Knight and Runhao Hua 6-3 at No. 1 doubles. Michigan got the point at No. 3 doubles to tie it at one a piece, but Essick and junior Stefan Lugonjic beat Jathan Malik and Kevin Wong 7-6 at No. 2 singles.
The good start, however, did not translate to the singles as Michigan won all six first sets in the singles matches. Michigan then carried its momentum and scored four points at No. 1, 2, 4 and 6 singles to clinch the victory.
Wurtzman said he is happy with the way the team rebounded after its losses and the victory will put the Hoosiers in a better state mentally.
“It will definitely be more positive and mentally stronger,” Wurtzman said. “With all the losses we’ve taken, it was great to overcome it today with a win on the road.”
