Indiana men’s tennis hosted Washington and Oregon this weekend inside the IU Tennis Center and on the IU Varsity Courts in Bloomington to wrap up the home portion of the regular season schedule.
Indiana boasted a strong home record throughout the year but would ultimately come up short against both the Ducks and the Huskies. After an 8-0 start to the season, the Cream and Crimson’s struggles have been evident lately as they had a four-game and an eight-game losing streak in the past two months.
The Hoosiers kicked off their weekend slate of games on Friday night, facing off against the Ducks.
Indiana showed a record of 10-10 (1-8 Big Ten) while being 8-6 at home. Meanwhile, Oregon had a record of 10-11 (2-7 Big Ten) but were coming off a 4-2 victory against Wisconsin on April 6.
The match started with doubles play on courts No. 1, 2 and 3, where it was a hard-fought affair between both teams.
On the No. 3 court, the visiting Ducks took the first point of doubles play, led by junior Vlad Breazu and freshman Clement Lemire 6-3.
However, Indiana was able to respond with a victory on the No. 2 court. Graduate student Michael Andre and freshman Matteo Antonescu defeated Oregon’s duo of freshman Paris Pouatcha and junior Lachlan Robertson 7-6 (7-2).
Indiana’s victory on the No. 2 court meant that the doubles point would come down to the winner on the No. 1 court.
Ultimately, Oregon’s pairing of sophomore Lennn Luemkemann and junior Matthew Burton gave the Ducks the doubles point with a 7-6 (9-7) victory over junior Sam Scherer and sophomore Ben Pomeranets.
Oregon led 1-0 after doubles play. Although the tiebreakers didn’t fall in the Hoosiers’ favor, they had to focus their attention on singles play.
Singles play started off on the wrong foot for the Cream and Crimson. Oregon’s Breazu defeated junior Deacon Thomas 6-2, 6-4 on the No. 2 court to push Oregon’s lead to 2-0.
Once again, though, Indiana was able to respond with a much-needed victory on the No. 4 court. Indiana’s Andre defeated Burton by a final score of 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.
But despite the momentum shift in their favor, Luemkemann and the Ducks seized it right back. Luemkemann defeated Indiana junior Jip van Assendelft 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on the No. 1 court to give Oregon the 3-1 lead, a point within victory.
Oregon was then able to put away the victory, reaching four total points, as Robertson beat out Indiana freshman Braeden Gelletich 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 on the No. 5 court.
Indiana’s Associate Head Coach, Mike Murray, called the loss “frustrating” but said the Hoosiers could “respond in a good way” with a victory at home on Sunday afternoon.
With the one-day break in between matches, Indiana regrouped and had their eyes set on bouncing back against Washington. This match, unlike the last one, was played outside on the IU Varsity Tennis courts.
Washington came into the match with a record of 14-6 (6-4 Big Ten) but were only 3-3 on the road.
Doubles play started the match, but once again Indiana would struggle on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts.
Washington’s senior pairing of Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn won 6-2 over Scherer and Pomeranets on the No. 1 court.
The Huskies grabbed the doubles point with another resounding victory on the No. 3 court. Freshman Rohan Belday and junior Brett Pearson defeated van Assendelft and Gelletich 6-4.
Again, facing a deficit, the Hoosiers tried to mount a comeback, but Zharyn defeated Indiana’s Thomas 6-3, 6-2 on the No. 2 singles court to give Washington a 2-0 lead.
Following a similar script as the previous match, Indiana responded. Freshman Karan Raghavendra proved to be victorious over Washington freshman Stephane Kamendje 6-2, 6-4.
With Washington’s lead cut in half, the Huskies countered back like Oregon did in the prior match. Sophomore Soham Purohit defeated Andre 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, which pushed the visitors within a point of the win.
In the end, the Huskies secured the victory on the No. 1 court. Indiana’s van Assendelft fell to Bouchelaghem 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Murray believed that while the Hoosiers didn’t play up to their potential this past weekend, they still have “full confidence in their group.”
“The play overall was poor, but we still have a long way to go,” Murray said. “Looking ahead, the goal for the next two matches is to string together two wins before the Big Ten Tournament.”
While the homestand didn’t go how Indiana anticipated, the group will have two more matches on the road to build up momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana’s next match will be Friday against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
