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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Playing at home for the first time since January 17th, the Jaguars came into Saturday's match looking to end a six-game losing streak. The women's tennis and soccer teams were in attendance to help support, but it wasn't enough as they fell to Toledo 6-1 and extended the streak to seven. 

Just as their female counterparts had done a few hours earlier, the men's tennis team fell into an early hole after dropping the first two doubles matches and the doubles point. Winning four of six singles matches is no easy task, but the Jaguars had a chance and their No. 1 doubles team showed why.

Even though they didn't win the No. 1 doubles match, the pairing of the Alex Toliver and Patrick O'Neill set the tone for the match with their constant cheers after points and emphatic shows of support for teammates. If you're a fan of quietly watching a relaxing match on a Saturday afternoon, this was not the match for you. 

Toliver is the apparent verbal leader of the team and even after his closely fought doubles match, continued to serenade those in attendance with frustrated groans after lost points and emphatic cheers after the rest. Even after dropping the first set in his No. 1 singles match up and going to the ground with an apparent leg cramp in the second, he kept at it and his positivity was contagious.

While it can be difficult to keep track of six matches at one time, it wasn't difficult to know if any particular IUPUI player was doing well. Thomas Gans, for instance, would unleash a particularly distinct shout leading to the rest of the team responding "let's go Thomas!" 

Three Jaguars, Gans, Patrick O'Neill, and Akshay Verma, took a one-set lead. If they could hold on and one more could come back, that would be enough for the win. Jason Jaruvang lost the first set at No. 2 singles, but was holding his own in the second. He and has opponent held serve through to 4-3, but then things started to unravel.

Toliver and Jacob Bradley had already lost their singles matches and Toledo needed only one more point to secure the victory. Even if Gans, O'Neill and Verma held on, a loss from Jaruvang would clinch the match, but holding on would prove difficult. Each of the three dropped the second set. 

Unfortunately Jaruvang couldn't finish the second set and Toledo secured the fourth point they needed. The Jaguars could still finish strong for a close 4-3 defeat, but their grip on 4, 5, and 6 singles was failing. Since the match had already been clinched, O'Neill's third set was replaced by a super tiebreaker. He got out to bad start, down 6-2 after multiple net-chord winners, but fought back to 8-8 before his opponent won the last two points for the victory. 

Gans was the next to finish and unlike O'Neill pulled off the super tiebreak victory. Playing at No. 4 singles today and switching between three and four throughout the season, he might not be the most talented player for the Jaguars, but he has been the most reliable. His three-set victory Saturday gave him a team-leading six singles victories this season and pushed his record back to .500. 

Gans's match got the Jaguars on the board, but they still had one more opportunity to score with Verma's match at No. 6 singles. Since he started the third set prior to the match being clinched, it would play out normally. Much like Jaruvang, Verma held serve and played close to 4-3 in the final set, but his opponent took over in the end and sealed it, taking the match 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. 

The 6-1 losses may be getting old, and this one the Jaguars let get away from them towards the end, but there's no denying the intensity, fight and spirit of this team. Their 2-10 record may not be indicative of their potential, but it's where they stand. They'll have another opportunity Sunday to get one back when they host Butler at Five Seasons in Carmel at noon. 


Results:
IUPUI 1 - Toledo 6

Singles:
1. Mark Singnil (Toledo) def. Alex Toliver (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-1
2. Stjepan Sisko (Toledo) def. Jason Jaruvang (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-4
3. Nicky Wong (Toledo) def. Jacob Bradley (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-1
4. Thomas Gans (IUPUI) def. Ryan Jorgenson (Toledo) 6-2, 3-6, 10-5
5. Garrett Cona (Toledo) def. Patrick O'Neill (IUPUI) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
6. Boris Pak (Toledo) def. Akshay Verma (IUPUI) 2-6, 6-1, 6-4

Doubles:
1. Cona/Sisko (Toledo) def. Toliver/O'Neill (IUPUI) 8-5
2. Singnil/Wong (Toledo) def. Gans/Bradley (IUPUI) 8-4
3. Roberto Meza/Pak (Toledo) vs. Jaruvang/Manuel Laboy (IUPUI) 7-6, unfinished

Order of finish:
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, 6