After a weekend off, four Hoosiers will be back in action this week and travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to compete in the Big Ten Individuals.
Sophomores Antonio Cembellin and Oliver Sec, freshman Zac Brodney and senior Matthew McCoy will represent IU in the team’s second-to-last tournament before the fall season ends.
Going against Big Ten opponents this weekend, IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman noted the importance of getting specifically these four guys matches. For Sec and Brodney, it will be their first shot to play against Big Ten opponents whom they could see come January, when the Big Ten head-to-head matches begin.
McCoy and Cembellin will look to continue their successful play through the fall and compete against top Big Ten opponents.
“This weekend we wanted to see how these four guys would do against other Big Ten players, which is important for us to see,” Wurtzman said.
Cembellin, who grew up in Spain and played on primarily slower outdoor courts, will also use this weekend to see how he performs in an indoor environment.
“It is important for us to get him as many tough indoor matches as we can get him this fall,” Wurtzman said. “He is still getting used to that type of competitive play.”
This Hoosier team has been together for a number of months now, and with so many new guys, Wurtzman said this fall has been a learning experience.
The group has gone through different stages as a team, but Wurtzman said the beauty of fall tournaments is every guy on the team competing in these matches will be the same guys here in January as the Hoosiers start their quest for a national championship.
“We have so much more time to grow as a team, and when January hits we will be ready to go,” Wurtzman said. “We have the mindset that we are going to be our best by April, knowing that January is just the start.”
As for practice, the competitiveness has been key for the Hoosiers as they look to continue their success during these tournaments.
Wurtzman said there are a lot of guys on this team he can rely on, which will make it tough to decide who is in the lineup in January. For now, Wurtzman said he can see how his team grows throughout the next couple months.
“We are going to be consistent, and we are going to give it our all, but it is going to be a full team effort” Wurtzman said.
Some of the Big Ten elite players will be in Flushing, New York, this weekend for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championship. However, when the draws are revealed, the Hoosiers anticipate to compete against each Big Ten team’s best.
