Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Welcomes No. 16 Alabama
1/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Jan. 31, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern wraps up its mini-stretch against the Southeastern Conference when No. 16 Alabama invades Combe Tennis Center on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Wildcats (3-0), who knocked off No. 28 Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville, are shooting for their second straight win against a top-30 SEC opponent.
Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), NU's go-to-guy last year, delivered for the 'Cats last weekend, outlasting the Razorbacks' Nathan Price, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. With the win, Hanus clinched the match for NU, 4-3, and improved to 11-8 on the season. NU also won its first doubles point of the year, taking two of three matches against UA.
Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and Jackie Jenkins (College Park, Ga./Westlake) are each riding three-match winning streaks in singles. Jenkins defeated No. 57 Aleksey Bubis of Arkansas in his last outing, and Axler has won six of his last seven matches.
Alabama is 2-0, with a pair of shutout (7-0) wins against Troy State and Southern Mississippi.The Crimson Tide are led by Maxim Belski and Stephen Mitchell. Belski, a second-team all-SEC player, is ranked 39th and Mitchell 63rd in singles. Both are also ranked in doubles. Mitchell and Geoff Hiscox are the No. 8 tandem in the nation, and Belski and Brad Friedman are the No. 51 duo.
Northwestern, the No. 39 team in the country, owns a 4-2 series edge against Alabama, and NU is 14-19 against SEC opponents.
