Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Resumes Play Versus Denver
3/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 22, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's 50th-ranked men's tennis team returns to action after a two-week break for reading week and finals by traveling to Miami for a neutral site match versus the University of Denver at noon Thursday, March 23. The Wildcats are winners of four of their last five matches and look to move to 2-1 in the all-time series with the Pioneers.
"Denver poses a real threat at this point in the season for us," head coach Paul Torricelli said. "They are much better than their ranking would indicate and it will be a real challenge for us to step up tomorrow. This is an important match for us going into the home stretch in April."
The 'Cats enter the match after having topped then-No. 44 Arizona State 5-2 on March 6, in what Torricelli regarded as their "most complete match of the season."
"We've had a good few days of practice down here and hopefully have adjusted to the conditions," Torricelli said. "We finished the winter portion of our schedule with a great effort at Arizona State. Hopefully we can regain that momentum after the time off for finals."
Northwestern has been riding the hot hand of junior Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College). Lock has come through with a plethora of notable performances at the No. 2 singles spot this season and is riding a six-match winning streak heading into Thursday's dual with Denver.
The Wildcats also have relied heavily on junior Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium Lohbrügge), who is the nation's 51st-ranked singles player according to the March 21 ITA Fila Rankings. Tempke is 8-5 this season at the No. 1 spot and has taken wins over two top-15 ranked opponents in North Carolina's fifth-ranked Raian Luchici and Wake Forest's then-No. 11 Todd Paul.
Senior captain Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) has been a bright spot for the Wildcats this season. Schaechterle boasts a team-high 16 singles wins this year and is tied with Lock for a team-best 11-3 dual record. Schaechterle has won six of his last seven singles matches.
In doubles, the Wildcats are led by the team of Schaechterle and Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice), who have compiled a 6-6 record in dual matches. The duo is ranked No. 72 by the ITA.
The Pioneers enter the match as winners of their last five. Denver most recently took a 7-0 sweep over Florida Atlantic Monday to improve its record to 10-4 this season.
In an interesting twist to the match, the Pioneers are coached by former Northwestern player Geoff Young, who played with the 'Cats from 1991-1994. Young was a two-time All-Big Ten selection during his time at Northwestern.
Denver is led by sophomore Adam Holmstrom, who is the nation's 83rd-ranked singles player. Holmstrom has compiled a 25-5 overall record this year, including a 9-3 record at the No. 1 singles position.
The Pioneer doubles tandem of Holmstrom and sophomore Niklas Persson is ranked No. 71 in the nation and the two have recorded a 6-4 record at the No. 1 doubles spot this year.
"Doubles is one of their strengths and they are particularly good at the top of their singles lineup," Torricelli said.
Following the Denver match, the Wildcats return to action when they resume conference play at Penn State at 3 p.m. Friday, March 31.
