Indiana men’s tennis suffered a 4-3 loss to Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The Hoosiers fell short after leading the Broncos 3-1 toward the end of the match.
Heading into the match, Boise State was 6-1 on the season and undefeated (3-0) at home. Meanwhile, Indiana was undefeated at 9-0 but only played in one road match. They won that match over Middle Tennessee State University on Feb. 7.
Indiana was still missing its No. 1 player, sophomore Facundo Yunis, due to an injury — one that sidelined him over the past weekend when the Hoosiers played three matches in three days. However, even without Yunis on Wednesday, Indiana won out in doubles play but later fell in singles play.
In doubles play, Indiana won on court No. 1, 6-3. Graduate student Michael Andre and junior Jip van Assendelft — who previously played at Boise State — beat out Boise State sophomore Carson Baker and redshirt sophomore Jett Middleton to give Indiana a 1-0 lead.
But on court No. 2, the Broncos responded. Junior Sam Scherer and freshman Matteo Antonescu fell short 6-4 to Boise State junior Taiyo Kurata and sophomore Julius Seifert. Boise State’s win tied the score at 1 in doubles play.
After Boise State’s win on No. 2, it had momentum. Still, Indiana regrouped and won the doubles play, led by freshman Braeden Gelletich and sophomore Ben Pomeranets. With the Hoosiers winning the doubles point, all eyes turned to singles play.
To kick off singles play, Boise State’s Middleton coasted past Indiana’s van Assendelft 6-1, 6-3 on court No. 1. In van Assendelft’s return to Boise State where he played his first two years of collegiate tennis at, he helped Indiana win in doubles play but ultimately fell in singles play. With Middleton’s win, Boise State tied the score at 1 in singles play.
The Hoosiers grabbed the next point on court No. 3, as Andre defeated Boise State’s Seifert 6-3, 6-4. Indiana now had the lead, 2-1 over the Broncos.
Indiana expanded its newfound lead on court No. 6. Gelletich won an important point over senior John Chin. With Gelletich’s win, the Hoosiers were 1 point away from their 10th-straight victory of the year as they led 3-1.
But despite being so close to victory, Indiana began to fall apart. Boise State took the win at court No. 5. Senior James Van Herzeele defeated Scherer 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3. With Van Herzeele’s win, Boise State cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Broncos continued to fight back with a crucial win on court No. 4. Boise State freshman Lukas Velik got the better of Pomeranets 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Now, the score was tied at 3. The match came down to whoever would win on court No. 2, as all eyes focused there.
In a back-and-forth game on court No. 2, Indiana junior Deacon Thomas came up just short against sophomore Carson Baker. The game went to a series of tiebreakers in which Baker took advantage of and beat out Thomas. Baker won 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (8-6) to ultimately clinch the victory for the Broncos.
Despite Indiana’s effort, it failed to reach its goal of winning 10-straight games to open the year. Indiana’s next match is against the University of Memphis at noon Sunday inside the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington.
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
