The Indiana men’s tennis team competed in an Ivy League doubleheader in Bloomington against Yale University on Saturday and Princeton University on Sunday, defeating Yale 4-3 and falling to Princeton 0-7.
The Hoosiers came out strong in their first match, winning the doubles point for the third consecutive time this season. Sophomore Ilya Tiraspolsky and senior Patrick Fletchall paired up for a 6-4 win for the Hoosiers at the No. 2 position against the pairing of freshman Aidan Reilly and sophomore Theo Dean. Then, the No. 3 team of redshirt freshman Michael Andre and junior Luka Vukovic notched a 6-3 victory over sophomore Renaud Lefevre and freshman Luke Neal.
The singles matches were much more competitive with many lengthy matchups to close out the afternoon.
Senior Carson Haskins stopped a comeback from Yale junior Michael Sun, the No. 69 singles player on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings, with a 6-2, 7-6(7-5) victory at the No. 1 spot. Tiraspolsky won a three-set match at the No. 2 position against Yale senior Cody Lin with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. To seal the Hoosiers’ overall victory, senior Vikash Singh defeated Lefevre 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 5 position.
Despite strong efforts, Indiana lost the remaining three singles matches. Fletchall fell short against Dean by a score of 3-6, 5-7 in the No. 3 singles match. Vukovic lost both sets against Reilly 5-7 in the No. 4 slot. In Saturday’s final match, Andre’s three-set effort in the No. 6 position came up empty against freshman Walker Oberg, resulting in a score of 6-3, 2-6, 3-6.
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Securing the doubles point, one of Indiana’s biggest strengths to start the spring season, proved crucial in its 4-3 team victory against Yale. However, Sunday’s match with Princeton further emphasized the importance of the doubles point.
Indiana got off to a solid start against Princeton, with Vukovic and Andre scoring a quick 6-1 win at the No. 3 doubles position. It would end up being the only match the Hoosiers won on the day.
Indiana’s No. 2 doubles team came up short in a close match against the pairing of Princeton seniors Karl Poling and Damian Rodriguez, losing 4-6. The Hoosiers’ No. 1 pair of Haskins and Singh competed in a thrilling match that included an extended tiebreaker.
The No. 1 match took considerably longer than the other two doubles showings, and both sets of players knew what was at stake – the doubles point. All four players went back and forth with aces, winners and dropshots, but the duo of Princeton seniors Ryan Seggerman and Justin Barki ultimately reigned victorious with a score of 7-6(10-8).
For the first time this season, the Hoosiers had lost momentum going into the singles matchups. Between the deflation of losing the last doubles match and Princeton’s deep lineup of talented players, Indiana couldn’t recover from the one-point deficit.
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This time it was Tiraspolsky who faced a ranked singles player, going up against Princeton’s No. 26 Karl Poling in the No. 2 spot. Poling proved to be a worthy opponent for Indiana’s sophomore star, as he defeated Tiraspolsky 6-2, 6-1. Haskins had a closer fight in the No. 1 singles match, but also lost in straight sets to Seggerman 4-6, 4-6.
Fletchall’s and Vukovic’s matches at the No. 3 and 4 positions, respectively, showcased back-and-forth tiebreakers. Fletchall fell to Rodriguez 6-7(5-7), 4-6, while Vukovic lost to Barki 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9).
Singh came up short at No. 5 doubles with a score of 3-6, 2-6 against Princeton junior Will Peters. Andre couldn’t complete the comeback for Indiana against senior Bill Duo, dropping the match 1-6, 4-6.
Although Princeton swept Indiana in the singles matches, the close matches throughout Sunday indicated anything but a blowout. The Hoosiers came one point away from putting themselves on the board multiple times, but weren’t able to close out the tight matches.
Indiana looks ahead to another non-conference home doubleheader, facing off against East Tennessee State University at 5 p.m. Friday and Middle Tennessee State University at noon Sunday.
