Indiana men’s tennis traveled west to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the first of two matches on the road last weekend. Indiana took on No. 47 Nebraska on April 7 and No. 49 Wisconsin in Madison on April 9, falling short in both matches.
The Hoosiers kicked off the weekend against the Cornhuskers. Indiana got off to a strong start in doubles play with a win at No. 1. With the win, fifth-year senior Patrick Fletchall and junior Ilya Tiraspolsky notched their 10th win of the season as a duo.
“They’ve had a really good year for us,” head coach Jeremy Wurtzman said Monday. “They’ve led by example and set the tone for us in doubles all year long.”
Despite Indiana’s strong start in doubles, Nebraska took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. The Cornhuskers were victorious 6-4 in both matches.
Nebraska followed up its wins in doubles with a strong showing in singles as well. The Cornhuskers won the first three singles matches to take a 4-0 lead and clinch the win.
“I thought we were competitive in most of those matches,” Wurtzman said. “Ultimately, we just didn’t execute well enough late in those matches.”
Two Hoosiers got wins in singles, freshman Sam Landau won 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (13-11) at No. 3 and junior Ilya Tiraspolsky won 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 at No. 4. However, it wasn’t enough as Nebraska got the win 5-2.
The second match of the weekend for Indiana came against Wisconsin.
The Badgers began doubles play with two consecutive wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to take the doubles point.
“Again, I saw us fight and compete,” Wurtzman said. “We just weren’t executing late in those matches when the points matter most.”
Wisconsin carried its domination into singles play, winning five of the six singles matches. Landau was the sole Hoosier to win in singles play against the Badgers. Landau is now 12-1 in singles play this year and has won his last five matches.
After the two losses, Indiana now sits at 1-4 in conference play and 12-10 overall this season. The Hoosiers have now lost four of their last five matches.
Next up for Indiana is a tough set of matches at home. At noon on April 15, Indiana hosts No. 4 Michigan.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Wurtzman said. “(Michigan) is playing for a national championship this year.”
To close out the weekend, at noon on April 16, Indiana hosts No. 67 Michigan State.
Follow reporter Zach Browning (@ZachBrowning17) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
