Northwestern
Indiana
'Cats Rally Past Indiana 4-3
3/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 5, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--Chuck Perrin (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) set it up, and Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) smashed it for the win.
Down 3-2, Northwestern's 44th-ranked men's tennis team stormed back with victories from Perrin and Christian to outlast No. 64 Indiana 4-3 in a five-hour long match.
"Emotionally, this was a huge win for us," said head coach Paul Torricelli. "This should give us a lot of momentum heading into the spring season."
The Wildcats (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) fell into a hole by dropping the point for doubles, in which Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) and Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium Lohbr?gge) prevented the shutout with a 9-8 (5) win over Jakub Praibis and Dmytro Ishtuganov at No. 2.
The Hoosiers (5-5, 0-1) then went up 2-0 with a win at No. 4 singles, but Hanus cut the lead in half by pumping out a crucial 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 triumph over Praibis at No. 1.
"Jakub was awesome," said Hanus, who trailed late in the second set. "I knew I had to win my match, so I stepped up and eventually got the momentum to win."
Tempke's 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 decision over Ryan Recht at No. 2 knotted the score at two apiece, but Indiana got right back up with a victory at No. 6.
It was all NU from there, led by Perrin's 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 win over Neil Kenner at No. 3.
"It pumped me up to see Chuck win right next to me," said Christian, who eventually won 7-6 (8), 6-7 (8), 6-1 at No. 5. "Once I broke (Ryan McCarthy) in the third set, things went in my favor."
"The guys showed so much heart," said Torricelli. "This was a pivotal match for us."
The Wildcats are off until March 27, when they take on Coastal Carolina at 8 a.m. (CT) in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
No. 44 Northwestern 4, No. 64 Indiana 3
Singles
No. 1 -- Tommy Hanus (NU) def. Jakub Praibis (IU), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
No. 2 -- Christian Tempke (NU) def. Ryan Recht (IU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3 -- Chuck Perrin (NU) def. Neil Kenner (IU), 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 -- Tom Bagnato (IU) def. Willy Lock (NU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 -- Matt Christian (NU) def. Ryan McCarthy (IU), 7-6 (8), 6-7 (8), 6-1
No. 6 -- John Stone (IU) def. Adam Schaechterle (NU), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Recht/Stone (IU) def. Perrin/Hoeveler (NU), 8-3
No. 2 -- Hanus/Tempke (NU) def. Praibis/Dmytro Ishtuganov (IU), 9-8 (5)
No. 3 -- Kenner/McCarthy (IU) def. Christian/Schaechterle (NU), 8-6
Players Mentioned
