Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Look to Ruffle Hawkeyes
4/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's 42nd-ranked men's tennis team continues its Big Ten Conference slate this weekend in Iowa. The 'Cats, coming off of a 1-1 home stand last weekend, will head to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. on April 9.
NU currently holds a 12-5 record on the season, including a 3-2 record in conference action. Last weekend, the Wildcats defeated 75th-ranked Purdue but fell at the hands of top-ranked Illinois. The two days of competition were highlighted by the spirited play of Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), who battled through two tiebreakers to beat Paul Rose of Purdue 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) on Saturday and almost beat No. 3 Brian Wilson of Illinois on Sunday, losing the match tiebreaker 10-6.
"Tommy is a very experienced player who knows he has to prove himself every week," said head coach Paul Torricelli. "Last week's play shows the level he is at right now, which is the highest I have seen out of a player in a while."
Iowa (3-11, 0-5) heads home after a road trip to Michigan and Michigan State, matches it lost 7-0. Hawkeye sophomore Aaron Schaechterle, who currently shares the team lead with Sebastian Delgado in dual victories (four), also is the twin brother of NU's Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine). The identical twins have never played a collegiate dual match against each other.
"Every opponent is important to us," said Torricelli, whose team is 54-19-1 all-time against the Hawkeyes. "We will not look past Iowa, despite the team's record. We simply cannot afford to."
After Iowa, the Wildcats will be out of action until April 16, when they head to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State.
