Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats, Hoosiers to Clash at Combe
2/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern, off to a 5-1 start, welcomes a hot Indiana team Saturday at Combe Tennis Center. The Hoosiers, who are riding a six-match winning streak to open the season, invade Evanston at noon.
IU opened the spring season with a shutout of Murray State, followed by an upset of then-No. 27 Notre Dame in South Bend. Since then, Indiana has knocked off Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina State, Louisville and Memphis. Julien Vulliez and Jakub Praibis are each off to 6-0 starts in dual play. Vulliez is 10-3 overall and Praibis is 8-2. Indiana also has a 14-4 dual doubles record thus far.
While IU has played well early, NU is also picking up speed as it enters its second conference match. The Wildcats started the season with three straight wins before a 5-2 loss against then-No. 16 Alabama. Since the loss, Northwestern shut out Wisconsin and avenged last year's NCAA Tournament defeat to Indiana State with a 4-3 win.
Sophomore Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) has turned it up a notch, winning four straight singles matches, including two against top-50 opponents. He is 3-1 on the season against players ranked in the top 100. He has also grown accustomed to senior Russell Bennett (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) as a doubles partner. The two have won four straight at No. 3 doubles.
Speaking of doubles, NU has won the doubles point in the last four matches. During that span, two duals have been decided by one point, with NU coming away the winner both times.
NU holds a 38-31 series advantage against IU, including last season's 5-2 win.
