DePauw’s men’s tennis team squashed Taylor University 9-0 Saturday afternoon, but was defeated by Indiana University, ranked 69th in Division I, in Bloomington on Sunday, 7-0.
Facing Taylor in its first match of the spring season DePauw pulled out a victory winning three doubles matches and six singles.
Reid Garlock and partner David Moss defeated Taylor doubles partner’s Cameron Boehning and Carter Perry 8-0. The pairs of Kopecky/Miles and Vannatta/Kahn both defeated Taylor 8-3 in doubles.
In singles Chris Bertolini played in the second seed spot defeating Boehning 6-2, 6-4. Carlos Guarin, the only Taylor Trojan to win a set against number one seed Miles, attempted to bring the Trojans one victory, but fell short to Miles by the score of 6-1, 6-7, 10-8.
Going into the Indiana match, coach Riggle expected the team to use it as a learning opportunity.
“Indiana is a big ten team and we get a lot out of playing them,” Riggle said. “They’re one of the best program we play.”
The Hoosiers dominated in doubles play, barely giving the Tigers any chance. Top doubles player’s Ben Kopecky and Sam Miles gave Indiana a tough fight, though. The pair had five matches off of Indiana’s Josh Mactaggart from Barnston, U.K. and Daniel Bednarczyk – the fourth nationally ranked tennis player in Canada – keeping the play competitive. The pair lost 8-5 in the final score.
Kopecky said he and Miles were able to compete with the Hoosiers, but the opposing pair won a few more points to snatch the overall win.
“We knew we could play with those kids,” Kopecky said. “We played with aggression and it was the best doubles match we have played all season despite the loss.”
Garlock and David Moss lost 8-2 while Eric Vannatta and Andrew Kahn faced the same loss. Tigers dropped all six singles matches in straight sets.
Competing with Indiana, a top ten team in the nation, the Tigers looked to compete, have fun and learn.
“It came down to their fitness level,” Kopecky said. “It was a good match for us to get a glimpse of what it takes to be at the top. It’s inspirational knowing there’s another level we can get to.”
The Hoosiers gave the Tigers motivation to carry on the rest of the season. Looking into the last month of the Tiger’s play, Riggle looks for the team to improve on starting off matches better, getting higher percentage on serving and returning serves. He also looks for the team hitting deeper balls and taking more attack opportunities.
The Tigers are now 4-12 overall this season and will travel to Vincennes University today.