Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Prepare for '08-'09 with Summer Competition
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 29, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- One year into the head coaching tenure of Arvid Swan, Northwestern's men's tennis team has wasted no time gearing up for the 2008-09 season, which opens at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Sept. 19-21. The Wildcats return all but one player from a year ago and usher in a stellar recruiting class.
Returning players and incoming freshmen alike were extremely active this summer, training and competing all over the world against some of the best competition in the United States and abroad.
"The guys did a great job building on the progress they made last year by training hard and competing all summer long," Swan said. "One of our goals is to build a team that plays, trains and develops together all year round. Many of our players did that, and our incoming freshmen have impressed us with their commitment to improving their games and getting ready to contribute the moment they arrive on campus."
Listed below are highlights from the 'Cats in action this summer.
-Incoming freshman Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Northbrook) reached the final round of qualifying at professional Futures events in Peoria and Milwaukee. In the process, Spector defeated one of the nation's top freshman recruits, Denis Nevolo, 6-3 6-1, at the Godfrey Future.
-Incoming freshman Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) reached the third round of the Milwaukee Futures qualifying draw and beat former top-five player in the country and current starter for Baylor University, Jordan Rux, 6-2 6-2.
-Incoming freshman Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) gained plenty of experience in his home nation and nearly took down former four-time All American and top-400 ranked ATP player Alex Hartman (University of Mississippi '03) (lost 1-6, 7-5, 6-4).
-Returning sophomore Peter Rispoli (Naples, Fla./St. Stephen's (Texas)) beat world ranked Rodrigo Tralli (1492) in the Decatur Futures qualifying event.
-Returning senior Philip Kafka (Dallas, Texas/Greenhill) reached the second round of the main draw doubles in a German Futures event before falling to the eventual champions.
-Junior Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkald) played three Futures events in the Midwest and lost two tight matches to Billy Heiser, a top-three singles player at the University of Illinois.
-Sophomore Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) made the semi-finals and finals of prize money events in Ohio and beat former Wright State #1 Lance Koetter 6-2 6-2.
-Graduate Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) played the Swedish summer circuit and collected wins over numerous top-25 Swedish ranked players.
