After a momentum-shifting loss March 24 against Cornell University, Indiana men’s tennis has now entered unfamiliar territory. The first home loss of the season gives the No. 51 ranked Hoosiers their second loss over the last three games, moving their record to 12-5.
The slide began on the west coast against the University of California San Diego on March 14. A case of spring break underestimation and relaxation may have gotten the best of the Hoosiers, as the Tritons are 6-13 on the season.
The Hoosiers started strong, winning the doubles point thanks to set wins from the pairings of seniors Ilya Tiraspolsky/Michael Andre and freshman Facundo Yunis/sophomore Luc Boulier.
For the second straight loss, a doubles win did not translate to a match win, with the Tritons picking up four wins in singles, coming on courts three through six. The margins were narrow, with the closest third set being a 7-5 win for Tritons junior Pelayo Rodriguez over Hoosiers senior Jagger Saylor.
Wins from Yunis and sophomore Sam Landau weren’t enough for the Hoosiers, as they fell 4-3.
The team came back to Bloomington on March 23 to kick off Big Ten play, squaring off against Purdue. The Boilermakers were 5-8 on the season, setting the table for a bounce back win at home for the Hoosiers, which is exactly what they achieved.
The Hoosiers continued to flex their muscles in doubles, winning in two sets from the same pairings of Tiraspolsky/Andre and Yunis/Boulier. However, this time, the Hoosiers didn’t squander the advantage in singles, picking up the three wins they needed from Landau, Andre and Tiraspolsky to mark a 4-2 victory.
The win marked Indiana’s 11th at home this season and continued its undefeated home streak — which proved short lived.
The streak was snapped the next day, as the Cornell Big Red came into town and did what nobody else had this season— beat the Hoosiers on their home court.
The match was flung into chaos after the start time was changed from 3 p.m.to 1 p.m. the night before, leading to no scoreboard. It was also Indiana’s first home match on outdoor courts.
The outdoor courts were far less friendly to the Hoosiers than the traditional indoor tennis center, with a clean sweep from the Big Red in singles. This is once again coming off the heels of a point from doubles, which has quickly turned from the Hoosiers’ greatest strength for victories to a bugaboo in their losses, as their last three defeats have come after winning doubles.
The doubles point once again came from Tiraspolsky/Andre and Boulier/Yunis, who now have a combined 15-2 record on the season.
Indiana’s No. 55 ranked Sam Landau faced his toughest test of the season against Cornell’s No. 13 Radu Papoe, who proved too much for Landau to handle, winning 6-2 in both sets.
Cornell handled Saylor, Andre and sophomore Deacon Thomas their singles matches to give the Big Red a 4-1 victory, with Thomas losing 7-5 in the third set to clinch.
Following a forgettable stretch of performances from the Hoosiers after a hot start, they will look to recapture their early season magic by capitalizing off their doubles wins, instead of letting it slip away in singles.
The Hoosiers have an opportunity to tack on another Big Ten win against Penn State on Friday at the IU Tennis Center.
