Northwestern
Arizona State
Northwestern Rolls Past Arizona State, 5-2
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 6, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Northwestern's men's tennis team swept the doubles competition then won four singles matches en route to a 5-2 win over Arizona State Monday. Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) clinched the match for the Wildcats with a win at No. 2 singles -- his sixth-straight singles victory.
"We played probably our most complete match today, starting strong in doubles and fighting hard throughout the singles," head coach Paul Torricelli said. "The guys did an amazing job considering they had only a day and a half of practice outdoors."
Northwestern's No. 1 doubles team of Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) and Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) gave NU it's first win of the day when they rolled past ASU's team of Jonathan Kinsella and Ryan Waits 8-2.
Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium Lohbrügge) and Lock battled the Sun Devils' T.J. Bellama and Mike Beaty in a tight 8-6 win at No. 2, securing the doubles point for the 'Cats.
At No. 3, Juan Gomez (Mexico City, Mexico/South Florida) and Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska-Independent Study H.S.) completed the doubles sweep with a 9-7 victory over Wes Miller and Nick Hegarty.
Dwyer gave NU a 2-0 lead when he topped Miller 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.
ASU got on the board when Alexey Evstratenkov (Moscow, Russia/Moscow International Gymnasia) was edged by Waits 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot.
Schaechterle then extended Northwestern's lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Bellama at No. 5.
"The key today once we had won the doubles was No. 4 and No. 5 singles," Torricelli said. "Marc and Adam were so solid and built our lead to 3-1. We have relied on Christian and Willy so often and today we were able to take some of the pressure off them."
Lock clinched the match for Northwestern by winning his sixth-consecutive singles match. Lock beat Christopher Biro 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 singles position.
Hegarty topped Gomez 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 at No. 3, but Tempke sent the Wildcats out on a high note when he used a third-set tiebreaker to beat Kinsella at No. 1. Tempke won the match 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (6).
"We have been telling this team that their best tennis will come this spring and we're seeing signs of that," Torricelli said. "They took some lumps in January and February and have really hung in there."
With the win, Northwestern improves its record to 8-6 on the season. The Wildcats return to action when they face Denver at noon Thursday, March 23.
Northwestern 5, ASU 2Doubles: 1.) Schaechterle/Christian (NW) def. Kinsella/Waits (ASU) - 8-2 2.) Tempke/Lock (NW) def. Bellama/Beatty (ASU) - 8-6 3.) Gomez/Dwyer (NW) def. Miller/Hegarty (ASU) - 9-7 Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles: 1.) Tempke (NW) def. Jonathan Kinsella (ASU) - 7-6, 4-6 (1)6 2.) Lock (NW) def. Christopher Biro (ASU) - 6-2, 6-4 3.) Nick Hegarty (ASU) def Gomez (NW) - 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 4.) Dwyer (NW) def. Wes Miller (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2 5.) Schaechterle (NW) def. T.J. Bellama (ASU)- 6-4, 6-3 6.) Ryan Waits (ASU) def. Evstratenkov (NW) - 6-3, 6-3 Order of Finish: 4,6,5,2,31
Players Mentioned
