University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Meets Indiana, Purdue During Crucial Weekend
4/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 13, 2012
Minnesota Daily Feature On Leandro Toledo
The Minnesota men's tennis team concludes its regular-season schedule with three of its four remaining matches on the road. The Gophers, who are ranked No. 40 by the ITA, begin their season-ending stretch at ranked foes Indiana and Purdue this weekend.
The Gophers face No. 31 Indiana on Saturday and then travel to No. 74 Purdue on Sunday. Minnesota is 9-6 overall and is tied for fifth in the Big Ten with a 4-3 record. The team they are tied with is Indiana, so Saturday's match looms large with the season winding down.
The Gophers and Hoosiers met twice last year with each team picking up a victory. Indiana topped Minnesota 4-3 at Baseline Tennis Center, but the Gophers then eliminated the Hoosiers in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament with a 4-0 win.
This year, the Hoosiers are 16-7 overall and boast a sparkling 10-2 record at home. After dropping three straight matches to Louisville, Michigan State and Michigan (Minnesota is 2-1 against those schools this year with the loss coming at Louisville), Indiana has reeled off consecutive Big Ten wins at Iowa and Nebraska.
The Hoosiers have six players this year who have 13 or more wins in the spring season and are led by junior Josh MacTaggart with a 15-7 record. MacTaggart has played every match at second singles, which means he could face Minnesota freshman Leandro Toledo. Toledo is ranked No. 78 and is 10-4 in dual matches. He leads Minnesota with an impressive 21-7 record this year.
Indiana's top doubles team is comprised of Isade Juneau and Jeremy Langer. The pairing is 14-9 in dual matches and 19-11 this year. They are ranked No. 56 and could face the 21st-ranked duo of Rok Bonin and Julian Dehn.
Minnesota's top pair is 12-2 in dual matches this year, with one of those defeats coming to Ohio State's No. 1-ranked tandem last weekend. Since Bonin and Dehn started playing together last year, they are 31-5 overall and 22-3 in dual matches.
Purdue is 8-10 overall and 2-4 in league play. Minnesota beat the Boilermakers 4-3 at Baseline Tennis Center. Purdue has won three straight matches after dropping three consecutive dual matches. They are 6-2 at home this year.
After this weekend, the Gophers face No. 68 Nebraska at home for Senior Day on April 20 before concluding the regular season on the road at Iowa on April 22.
Minnesota will then play in the Big Ten tournament from April 26-29 in Evanston, Ill.
