Indiana men’s tennis looked for a bounce-back performance on Sunday following a loss to the University of Louisville on Friday night. The Hoosiers got it done, beating Western Michigan 5-2 on Sunday in Bloomington at the IU Tennis Center.
“We needed to rebound quickly,” head coach Jeremy Wurtzman said postgame. “We haven’t lost much this season and it’s good that the team bounced back.”
Indiana came into the match 17-5 collectively as a team in doubles this year. It continued that success against the Broncos.
“We toughed it out in doubles. (Western Michigan) played well,” Wurtzman said. “It was a battle to tough it out. It was good for them to get through.”
Freshman Ekansh Kumar and senior Luka Vukovic got it started for the Hoosiers. They won 6-3 at No. 3 doubles. Minutes later the pair of freshmen, Sam Landau and Luc Boulier, won at No. 2 doubles, 6-4.
“We have a fun relationship,” Landau said postgame. “We like to have a lot of fun out there and keep it simple.”
The Hoosiers took a 1-0 lead into singles play.
Landau improved to 7-0 this season in singles play. He won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles to give Indiana the 2-0 lead.
“Sam’s a good player and he’s got some confidence now,” Wurtzman said. “I’m really proud of Sam.”
The Broncos fought back though. Sophomore Anton Arzhankin took down Vukovic at No. 2 singles. Senior Arjun Honnappa defeated junior Ilya Tiraspolsky at No. 4 singles to tie it up at 2.
Kumar beat junior Jackson Boone at No. 6 singles in straight-sets, 6-3, 7-5.
It was junior Jagger Saylor who clinched the win for Indiana at No. 5 singles with an ace. His 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win against graduate student Fynn Lohse secured the win for Indiana.
“Before that match point, I visualized that serve,” Saylor said postgame. “That’s how I wanted to finish it.”
Fifth-year senior Patrick Fletchall won at No. 1 singles moments later, giving Indiana the 5-2 win.
“It was nice to see us have our back against the wall and find a way out of it,” Wurtzman said. “I’m really proud of the guys for that.”
With the win on Sunday, the Hoosiers are now 9-2 this season. Indiana will take a trip to New York next weekend to take on Cornell University on Friday.
Follow reporter Zach Browning (@ZachBrowning17) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
