Northwestern University Athletics
Season Recap: Strong Individual Efforts Highlight 2005-06 Season
8/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 4, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With veteran leadership, players with proven Big Ten success and a host of up and coming talent, it's no wonder head coach Paul Torricelli set the bar high for his team in 2006. Torricelli's goal for his team? To qualify for consecutive NCAA Championships. After compiling a 12-11 season record, the 'Cats fell just short of their goal. But after a season filled with memorable wins and clutch performances, the Wildcats can take away many positives with them into a bright future for the program.
NU officially kicked off the 2005-06 campaign by competing in the Tom Fallon Invitational in the spring. Freshman Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska-Independent Study H.S.) and senior captain Adam Schaechterle (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) each won three of the four singles matches on the weekend, setting the tone for the season that players across the roster were expected to step up and perform.
Juniors Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) and Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany), who did not compete in the Tom Fallon Invitational, saw their first action of the season in Tulsa, Okla., as they were selected to compete in the 2005 Polo Ralph Lauren Championships.
After suffering a setback in the first round of qualifying, Tempke took his first win of the year by defeating Arizona State's 48th-ranked Chris Biro in a consolation match.
Lock retired from play in the tournament after dropping his first qualifying match, but would regain his footing three weeks later at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships.
At the Regional Championships, NU had five players secure spots in the tournament's singles main draw competition. Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice), Dwyer, Lock, Shaechterle and Tempke all won their first matches in the main draw, but Tempke was the lone Wildcat to advance to the round of 16 as he topped Ohio State's Dennis Mertens.
Christian and Schaechterle had a good showing at the tournament, earning NU's lone doubles entry in the main draw. The admirable play was just a preview of what the team would do during the upcoming regular season.
The Wildcats wrapped up their fall season with a plethora of solid performances at the Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships. Two NU freshmen proved they could handle the pressure of playing Big Ten tennis as Alexey Evstratenkov (Moscow, Russia/Moscow International Gymnasia) and Dwyer each qualified for the main draw. Once there, Dwyer rolled through the competition and became NU's only player to advance to the round of 16. Evstratenkov won his first-round bout, but fell in the round of 32.
When all was said and done following the fall season Dwyer recorded a team-best 6-3 record, while Tempke posted wins in six of his final nine matches heading into the spring.
Following a nearly two-month break, the Wildcats stepped back out onto the court in the friendly confines of the Combe Tennis Center to face regional foe Illinois-Chicago in their first dual play of the year.
The Wildcats wasted little time showing the talent they had on the team as NU swept the Blue Demons for the 7-0 shutout. Northwestern went on to win two of its next three, falling only to No. 32 Louisville en route to a 3-1 start.
After the fast start, the Wildcats began what was arguably their toughest stretch of the season, playing three-straight opponents ranked in the ITA top-35.
After falling to No. 26 Notre Dame at home, Northwestern took off for its first East Coast swing of the season to play No. 31 North Carolina and No. 15 Wake Forest.
While NU fell to both ACC schools, the Wildcats played some of their most inspired tennis of the season. They were led by Tempke who earned singles wins over UNC's fifth-ranked Raian Luchici and Wake Forest's 11th-ranked Todd Paul. Tempke was honored for his performance by garnering Big Ten Athlete of the Week accolades.
After the three-match skid, Northwestern rebounded by taking two of its next three contests to enter Big Ten play at an even 5-5.
In their conference opener at Wisconsin, the Wildcats were originally edged 4-3 by the Badgers. Torricelli, however, appealed to the league office that Wisconsin did not use a legitimate lineup and the Big Ten agreed. The match's outcome was overturned, giving NU the official win, 4-3.
Northwestern played well down the stretch of its final 10 matches, but never seemed to get into a rhythm or winning streak that would secure the Wildcats a spot in the NCAA Championships.
After splitting a pair of conference matches at home versus Michigan and Michigan State, the 'Cats headed to Pac-10 country to face Arizona State. There, the Wildcats swept the doubles competition and won four singles matches to take a 5-2 victory over the Sun Devils. Lock clinched the match by coming out on top of a 6-2, 6-2 decision with Biro at No. 2 singles for his sixth-consecutive singles victory.
After winning three of its next five conference contests, Northwestern ended the regular-season with a daunting task -- trying to beat the Big Ten's two best teams on the final weekend of conference play.
NU first hosted then-No. 5 Illinois at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. While the Illini took a 6-1 win, there were many positives for the Wildcats to take out of the match. Most notably was the huge upset pulled out by Schaechterle and Christian as they knocked off the nation's No. 4 doubles team of Kevin Anderson and G.D. Jones. Lock also won over the nation's 64th-ranked Jones and came within a point of upsetting No. 3 Ryler DeHeart.
Following the bittersweet performance in their home finale versus Illinois, the Wildcats fell to then-No. 7 Ohio State in their season finale.
Northwestern knew it had its work cut out for it in order to earn an NCAA berth, but the Wildcats held out hope for an impressive performance in the Big Ten Championships.
On day one, NU shutout Michigan State for the second time this season, earning the 4-0 win.
Later that day, the Big Ten announced Tempke would be named to the 2006 All-Big Ten team, making him the 12th player in program history to be named all-conference in consecutive seasons.
In round two of the Big Ten Championship, the Wildcats bowed out of the tournament at the hand of Illinois.
While the Wildcats were not selected to the NCAA Championships as a team, Schaechterle and Christian were named alternates in the doubles competition. The two moved up to the No. 1 alternate team before the competition began, but just didn't get the breaks they needed to become one of the 32 teams in the tournament.
With the 2006 season in the books, the Wildcats can reflect on their achievements. While the team did not make the NCAA Championships, they came within a match or two of meeting their goal. With most of their team returning and another top-notch schedule in the works for next season, it won't be long before the Wildcats can again be called an NCAA Championship team.
