Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Ready for Weekend of Nonconference Duals
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 22, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following a pair of Big Ten contests last weekend, the 45th-ranked 'Cats will take a break from the conference schedule by facing No. 59 Oklahoma and No. 9 Notre Dame this weekend. The 'Cats host the Sooners at the Combe Tennis Center at 6 p.m. Friday before traveling to South Bend to face the Fighting Irish at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Torch's Take
"The Sooners will be a real test for us," head coach Paul Torricelli said. "We have to bounce back from last weekend's losses and they will be very tough. Two years ago they came in here and took it to us. I expect our guys to step up Friday night and get back on a winning track. As always, doubles will be key."
"The Irish have one of their best teams ever, as the top-10 ranking would indicate," Torricelli said. "It's another part of our demanding schedule, this time on the road. It's always a match we look forward to and I anticipate a real battle."
"We have really emphasized consistent effort and concentration this week," Torricelli said. "We were uneven in both matches last weekend and it cost us dearly. We let one slip away Friday night against Penn State and had an opportunity to upset Michigan."
Last Time Out
Penn State took the crucial doubles point and took three singles matches to capture a 4-3 win over Northwestern in its Big Ten opener Friday night. The doubles point came down to a match-up of highly ranked doubles teams as the 'Cats 27th-ranked doubles team of Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) and Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) fell to Penn State's No. 23-ranked team of Michael James and Adam Slagter, 9-8(5).
Led by Christian Tempke's (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium LohbrÜgge) upset victory at No. 1 singles, the Wildcats almost came back to upset 22-ranked Michigan, but ultimately fell 5-2 on Sunday afternoon. Coming off his thrilling win in doubles, Tempke dominated his singles match with 59th-ranked Brian Hung at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Tempke's victory evened the dual at one apiece and gave the senior his fifth-straight victory in singles.
Follow Matches From Your Computer!
Live results will be provided for every home match held indoors at the Combe Tennis Center. Live Stats can be found under the match name on the front page of NUsports.com or at this link: Tennis Live Stats.
Live Scoring for the Notre Dame match can be accessed by clicking here.
Northwestern Notes
• Tempke is enjoying a five-match winning streak. He has recorded wins over Arkansas' Colin Mascall, Harvard's Ashwin Kumar, Mississippi's 79th-ranked Robbye Poole, Penn State's Michael James and 59th-ranked Brian Hung of Michigan. He played No. 1 singles in NU's first two Big Ten contests.
• The doubles pair of Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska-Independent Study H.S.) and Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas) are 6-3, including a five-match winning streak from Jan. 26 to Feb. 16. They have moved into the No. 2 doubles spot, where they are 5-3.
