Several Hoosiers made the most of their final opportunity to perform well against other talented players this weekend before their two-month break.
The Wake Forest Invitational marked the sixth and final fall tournament for the IU men’s tennis team, and freshman Bennett Crane registered the most impressive weekend of the bunch.
Crane made his way into the final of his singles draw before losing to Troy’s Mustapha Belcora and won the doubles consolation bracket with sophomore Keivon Tabrizi.
“Winning three straight matches was a good confidence booster,” Crane said. “Obviously I would have liked to win the tournament, but it was still good for me to get the confidence going into the spring.”
Going into the off-season, Crane is focused on staying strong and fit while continuing to improve his all-around game. He credits the coaching staff for his improving strength while also enabling him to play with more power.
The IU doubles tandems also dominated in their final fall tournament.
Senior Stefan Lugonjic paired up with freshman Zac Brodney and brought home the championship in their bracket. They defeated teams from Virginia Tech, Liberty and Wofford during their run.
The freshmen duo of Will Pieskarky and Payam Ahmadi defeated teams from UNC Asheville, Troy and Davidson to win theirs.
Sophomore Keivon Tabrizi’s run at a singles championship was held up by two different Kentucky Wildcats, and junior Raheel Manji failed to record a win in singles or doubles before an injury kept him out of his last singles match.
Regardless, Crane said the overall effort of the deep Hoosier squad will be important when the spring season rolls around.
“Our team is so strong and we have so many good players. We are deep in our lineup and and it really could be anyone on any given day playing,” Crane said. “It means a lot to be able to get some good wins here and play to the best of my abilities.”
A team with great depth could make IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman and assistant coach Mike Murray’s jobs more difficult come January, although it’s certainly more appealing than the reverse.
The Hoosiers have over two months before they face another opponent, the Bryant Bulldogs, on Jan. 21.
