Going into Friday night, Indiana men’s tennis was 6-0. After a slow start to its season last year, the undefeated start this year was something the new group could build on.
First up on the schedule was a match against Drake University on Friday evening inside the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington. Indiana was coming off a gritty, come-from-behind victory on the road against Middle Tennessee State University on Feb. 7 and appeared to be well-rested heading into the weekend marathon.
In doubles play against Drake, Indiana won on court No. 3 led by freshmen Braeden Gelletich and Karan Raghavendra 6-0. The Hoosiers ended up grabbing the first point of the match, as freshman Matteo Antonescu and junior Sam Scherer won 6-1 over Drake. With doubles play wrapped up, Indiana led 1-0.
Heading into singles play, the Hoosiers continued to stay in control. Junior Jip van Assendelft won on court No. 2 by a final of 6-1, 6-4 over junior Christian Winstead to give Indiana a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, on court No. 4, Gelletich dominated 6-1, 6-2 to get Indiana a step closer to victory.
Indiana wrapped up the match guided by sophomore Ben Pomeranets on court No. 3. Pomeranets defeated sophomore Ben Johnson 6-3, 6-3 to seal the Hoosiers’ victory.
Indiana also won its final three games on courts No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 backed by junior Deacon Thomas, sophomore Nikola Kolyachev and Raghavendra to sweep Drake 7-0.
After the victory, Indiana head coach Jeremy Wurtzman stressed the importance of getting a “quick” win. He also mentioned that resting sophomore Facundo Yunis, his usual No. 1 player, was part of the Hoosiers’ strategy heading into the match.
With the first match, and victory, of the weekend under its belt, Indiana turned its attention toward its next match against the University of Louisville on Saturday afternoon.
The doubles play between both teams was back and forth in all three games. On courts No. 1, graduate student Michael Andre and van Assendelft beat Louisville sophomore Kosuke Nakanishi and junior Andre Steinbach 6-4. The victory by Andre and van Assendelft gave Indiana an early lead.
Indiana continued its doubles mastery by sealing the first point of the match on court No. 2 as Antonescu and Scherer squeaked by senior Natan Rodrigues and junior Will Mayew 7-5.
The tight matches during doubles play were an indication of how singles play would go. Heading into singles play with the lead again was important for the Hoosiers.
Pomeranets kicked things off in doubles play on court No. 4 with a commanding win over Louisville’s Steinbach 6-2, 6-2. Pomeranets’ victory gave Indiana a 2-0 lead, but Louisville fought back.
The Cardinals took two wins on courts No. 1 and No. 3 led by Rodrigues and Mayew to tie the score up at 2. However, Indiana responded with a monumental win by Gelletich on court No. 6 by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
With the match on the line, Indiana’s van Assendelft won 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 on court No. 2 to give the Hoosiers their eighth straight victory of the season.
The third and final match of the weekend was a Sunday matinee against DePaul University. Heading into the match, both teams were on opposite sides of the spectrum. DePaul had lost its last two games while Indiana had won eight in a row.
The Hoosiers got off to a hot start yet again as they secured the doubles point on courts No. 1 and No. 2. Andre and van Assendelft defeated DePaul 6-4 on court No. 1 while Scherer and Antonescu continued their dynamic brilliance together as they won 6-3 on court No. 2.
Indiana continued to dictate singles play. The Hoosiers had no problem securing the match, as they won the first 3 points of singles play to wrap up the victory.
Gelletich kicked off the dominance on court No. 5 by winning 6-2, 6-1. Antonescu and Pomeranets ended up being the ones to clinch the match for Indiana. Antonescu defeated DePaul senior Sven Moser on court No. 6 while Pomeranets beat out freshman Tobias Leitner 7-5, 6-3 on court No. 3.
While it was all but over at that point, the rest of the matches continued. Indiana’s van Assendelft won on court No. 2 by a final of 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 10-8 while Scherer defeated sophomore Quang Vinh Nyugen. Indiana did fall on court No. 1 though but still defeated DePaul in a satisfying matter regardless.
With the win over DePaul, the Hoosiers closed the weekend on a high note by beating all three teams they faced to stay undefeated.
Indiana’s next match comes against Boise State University at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Boise, Idaho. The match will be a reunion for Jip van Assendelft, as he transferred from Boise State to Indiana last offseason.
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
