Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Eye Cardinals, Bulldogs This Weekend
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 4, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's 58th-ranked men's tennis team (4-2, 0-1 Big Ten) will remain at Combe Tennis Center for the second-straight week, playing host to No. 62 Ball State (2-2) at 6 p.m. Friday and Drake (0-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday. Head coach Paul Torricelli, with a 298-211 record in his 21st year at NU, could earn his 300th win this weekend.
The Wildcats enter competition this week with a two-match winning streak, including a 4-3 win over No. 25 Pepperdine. One reason for the team's success is due to the play of freshman Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College), who has three of his last four matches, including a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 come-from-behind triumph last Friday. That win gave the 'Cats a 3-3 tie with the Waves after trailing 3-1.
"Willy is getting a chance to prove himself right away," said Torricelli. "He is obviously a talented player and is too good not to (be in the lineup).
Should Torricelli's 300th win happen Saturday against Drake, it will come with a twist, as the Bulldogs are coached by former assistant Jay Udwadia. Torricelli is 1-0 this season against former assistants, as Pepperdine's Adam Steinberg worked at NU from 1995-97.
The Bulldogs have a lot of talent in their lineup, as witnessed at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships last weekend. Jonathan Tishler led the way for Drake, winning the No. 6 singles championship and teaming with Jack Frankowicz to win the No. 3 doubles championship.
Josh McClure also notched two solid performances at the tournament, winning at No. 5 singles and pairing with Sergi Villa to earn runner-up honors at No. 2 doubles.
"We are not familiar with their team," said Torricelli. "On the other hand, Jay knows our team very well, but that does not mean we will do anything differently. We will approach them like any other match."
The Cardinals are coming off a 5-2 defeat by No. 53 Purdue. They are led by Matt Baccarani, who won the Mid-American Conference Tennis Player of the Week for going 2-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles vs. IUPUI and Valparaiso. Michael Heule, meanwhile, boasts the best record of any of the Cardinals with a mark of 9-5.
"Ball State has a great tradition in tennis," said Torricelli. "First and foremost, they have a great coach. Also, they always play Big Ten teams very tough--they are real fighters."
