On Tuesday IU Coach Jeremy Wurtzman said the doubles point was going to be a crucial one in the first-round matchup against Minnesota.
He was right.
Despite coming out on top at position one doubles, the Hoosiers were not able to capitalize in the other doubles positions and lost the point.
In the second stage of the matchup, the Golden Gophers took advantage of the extra point to get the best of the Hoosiers.
On Thursday IU men’s tennis fell short to Minnesota 4-2 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in West Lafayette, Indiana. This was the second season in a row the Hoosiers were knocked out of the tournament in its earliest stage.
“It was a very small margin,” Wurtzman said. “It was an extremely competitive match that really came down to the wire.”
Juniors Raheel Manji and Keivon Tabrizi played at No. 1 doubles and got a 6-2 win.
Despite the doubles point overall loss, both juniors went on to win their singles matchups. Tabrizi won in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 at position four singles and Manji came up on top 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 at position one in an intense three-set match.
These two victories were the only points IU put on the board against Minnesota.
At positions three and five, the Hoosiers lost in straight sets. Sophomore Oliver Sec forced a third set but lost 7-6 (3), 1-6, 7-5 at No. 6.
After the victory for the Golden Gophers, they decided to not continue playing their remaining match.
Sophomore Antonio Cembellin was trailing 3-2 in a tiebreak in the third set at position two when the match was stopped.
“I think we had nine match points in the last two matches,” Wurtzman said. “At six singles we had four match points, at number two singles we had four or five match points, so we win both of those matches we are sitting here with a win.”
IU finished its season 13-13 overall and 4-7 in conference play. Last season, the Hoosiers ended with an overall record of 11-15, but had a better conference record of 6-5.
“I mean just one or two points did not go our way,” Wurtzman said. “But we left it all out on the court, and there is a lot to be proud of.”
