Northwestern
Michigan
NU Nipped by Michigan, 4-3
4/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 24, 2004
Northwestern-Michigan results
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EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's 42nd-ranked men's tennis team's return to Combe Tennis Center was not a happy one.
With a first-round bye in the Big Ten Championship on the line, the Wildcats could not hold on after earning the doubles point, falling to No. 54 Michigan 4-3.
NU (14-7, 5-4 Big Ten), which has not been at home for three weeks, needed a sweep this weekend to guarantee the bye (fifth place or higher in the conference standings). With the defeat, it will have to win tomorrow and hope the teams below it lose.
"Give Michigan credit," said head coach Paul Torricelli. "They came fired up in singles and got on top of us."
Doubles was one of few bright spots for the 'Cats. Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) and Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium Lohbrugge) led off with an 8-3 win over Vinny Gossain and Steve Peretz at the two spot.
After the Wolverines tied it at 1-1, Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) and Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) rallied from being down 5-4 to beat Anthony Jackson and Josef Fischer 8-6 at No. 3. The win improved the NU duo to a team-best 9-4.
Unfortunately, singles was a whole different story. The Wolverines (12-9, 3-6) jumped to a 3-1 lead after victories at Nos. 2, 4 and 6 singles. Hanus stopped the run by topping Jackson 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1. That gave the junior his 16th win of the year; he still has a chance for his third-straight 20-win year.
Michigan clinched with its triumph at No. 5. Chuck Perrin (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) then took the final point for Northwestern by knocking down Ryan Heller 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the three spot.
The Wildcats will close out their regular season at noon Sunday at Combe Tennis Center, where they will play host to No. 57 Michigan State.
