Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Welcomes Wisconsin, Indiana State
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 7, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Coming off its first loss of the season, Northwestern is looking to redeem itself against Wisconsin and Indiana State this weekend at Combe Tennis Center. The Wildcats (3-1) open Big Ten play against the Badgers on Saturday at 4 p.m. and resume their nonconference docket against the Sycamores Sunday at 2 p.m.
Northwestern fell short 5-2 last weekend against No. 16 Alabama in its first of a five-match homestand. The Wildcats continued their solid doubles play, taking all three matches, including Jackie Jenkins (College Park, Ga./Westlake) and Chuck Perrin's (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) win against the eighth-ranked duo in the country. But the Crimson Tide nipped Jenkins and freshman Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) in singles play to secure the win.
Wisconsin is 2-1, having defeated Northern Illinois and DePaul before losing to No. 34 Notre Dame last Tuesday. The Badgers present a young lineup, as six of the 10 players on the team are freshmen. Alex Kasarov returns with the most wins from 2002, when he went 19-17, including 5-5 in the Big Ten. Jenkins, Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) met Kasarov last fall, with NU winning two of three. Hanus and Jenkins picked up wins against Kasarov, but Axler lost in the Big Ten Singles Championship.
Indiana State enters the weekend at 1-1, and it will face Memphis on Friday before coming to Evanston. The Sycamores have been on a roll of late, garnering Missouri Conference Player of the Week honors the last two weeks. No. 47 Vedran Vidovic was honored this week after his straight-set win (6-4, 6-2) against the third-ranked player in the country, Daniel Klemetz of Middle Tennessee State. Dmytro Ishtuganov earned the accolade two weeks ago.
NU is winless in three attempts against ISU, including last season's 4-3 loss. The Wildcats have won the last 13 meetings with the Badgers, dating to April 7, 1991, and they hold a 52-36-4 series advantage.
