Indiana men’s tennis sent players to the Spartan Invite in East Lansing, Michigan, and the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma last week.
Last weekend, five Hoosiers made the trip to East Lansing: juniors Nishanth Basavareddy and Jagger Saylor, fifth-year senior Mac Rogers and freshmen Sam Landau and Andrew Meier.
It was the first tournament of the season for all the athletes who participated.
“It was good to get some guys on our team back into the rhythm of competing against college competition,” associate head coach Mike Murray said.
Meier and Landau both won their first collegiate singles matches. Meier lost his first two before ending the tournament with a win. Landau won his last two matches after losing his opening event.
“You’re always kind of curious how they (freshmen) handle it. Each of them got their first college singles and doubles wins so that was great to see,” Murray said. “All-in-all it was a good weekend for the freshman. They came away motivated to work for some more.”
Saylor lost his first match at the Spartan Invite. He concluded the tournament with a 2-2 record. Basavareddy won three consecutive singles matches to end the tournament following a loss in his first match.
Murray said the Hoosiers are not worried about these results starting the fall season.
“We’d much rather win in the spring than the fall,” Murray said, referring to the NCAA Championships held in May.
Basavareddy and Meier won their first two doubles matches, going 2-1 on the weekend together. Rogers and Saylor also combined to win two doubles matches.
“All five of the guys had good doubles results this weekend, and I’m encouraged to see if they can keep that level up the rest of the fall,” Murray said.
While those five Hoosiers competed at the Spartan Invite, five of their teammates competed at the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is a national event where some the best players in the country come to play.
Juniors Michael Andre and Ilya Tiraspolsky competed alongside senior Luka Vukovic, fifth-year senior Patrick Fletchall and freshman Luc Boulier.
Andre and Tiraspolsky both won their consolation games after losing in the opening round of the tournament. Vukovic, Fletchall and Boulier all went 0-2 at the national event.
“Coming back with maybe a few less wins than we wanted can be tough,” Murray said. “But at the same time, it can be motivating, and it can trickle down into overall better practices which overall helps you in future tournaments.”
Murray said the team isn’t going to focus as much on the results at the ITAs, instead paying more attention to the performances overall.
“All of our guys on their best days have the ability to beat anybody,” Murray said. “It’s about framing it in your mind in a way that keeps you positive.”
