For the first time all season, IU men’s tennis has jumped into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings at No. 48.
IU was able to crack the rankings after a 4-2 win against No. 32 Texas Tech University at home March 8. This was the Hoosiers' first win against the Red Raiders since 1987.
Freshman Vikash Singh, who just joined the team in January, clinched the match for IU. He dominated the third set in 6-0 fashion to close it out for the Hoosiers.
Texas Tech is the second ranked team IU has defeated this season, and the other was then-No. 41 Northwestern earlier in the month.
Despite riding high on its statement win and four-match win streak, IU still faced a tough test March 10 in Champaign, Illinois, when it lost to then-No. 15 Illinois.
Earlier in the week, IU Head Coach Jeremy Wurtzman referred to Illinois as one of the best teams in the country, and it showed its strength against IU.
The Illini set the tone early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Illinois went on to defeat IU 6-1, ending its longest winning streak of the season.
The loss puts IU at 8-7 and 2-1 in the Big Ten but ends its longest win streak of the season at four matches.
The Hoosiers, 8-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play, gets a much-needed rest for close to three weeks, its first weekend off since January.
IU won’t return to action until March 30 and 31 when they welcome Michigan and Michigan State to Bloomington.
