IU ended its regular season with two wins this weekend when it beat Wisconsin 4-0 Friday evening and Minnesota by the same score Sunday morning.
With the victories, the Hoosiers are now riding a six-game winning streak before the Big Ten Tournament.
Sunday was also senior day for five of IU’s out-going players, and IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said he was pleased with their performance and Sunday’s victory.
“It was a good celebration for the seniors and a good way to send them off,” Wurtzman said. “It was emotional because these guys have given everything to IU tennis. We talked all year on how they wanted to leave their legacy, and the way they finished showed their character.”
Sophomore Raheel Manji and freshman Afonso Salgado beat Justyn Levin and Heremy Lynn 6-1 at No. 3 doubles, and junior Stefan Lugonjic and senior Chris Essick beat Ruben Weber and Marino Alpeza 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Senior Sam Monette would give the Hoosiers their first singles point on senior day when he beat Matic Spec 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1 singles.
“It’s really special. My parents drove a long way to come here,” Monette said. “It’s a 16-hour drive, my parents live a thousand miles away from here. It’s special for them, and it’s special for me.”
Freshman Antonio Cembellin made it 3-0 for the Hoosiers when he beat Levin 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles, and Manji clinched the match at No. 2 singles.
Friday’s match also saw the Hoosiers clinch the doubles point, but it was less straightforward than Sunday, coming down to a tiebreaker. With the scores tied at 1-1, seniors Daniel Bednarczyk and Monette beat Wisconsin’s Josef Dodridge and Lamar Remy 7-3 in the tiebreaker.
Salgado doubled the Hoosiers’ lead when he beat Darius Mckenzie 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
Bednarczyk made it 3-0 for the Hoosiers after battling out a tough second set with Chema Carranza. Bednarczyk, who won the first set 6-3, was locked in a tight match in the second set but eventually won 7-6.
Manji then clinched the game for IU when he beat Remy 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.
Wurtzman said he is excited for the Big Ten Tournament Thursday, especially with IU’s current form.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how we do,” Wurtzman said. “It’s such a crazy year with all those losses for about two months straight, and now we have about a month of winning.”
