Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Big Ten Singles Championship
Three Wildcats in Consolation Semifinals at Big Ten Indoors
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Nov. 1, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Northwestern recorded 12 victories in singles consolation action Sunday at the 2009 Big Ten Singles Championship hosted by Michigan State. Three of the four consolation semifinalists are Wildcats, with the winner to be determined when action resumes Monday morning.
In main draw action, Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) fell in his round of 16 match to PSU's Eddie Bourchier, 6-3, 6-4. The sophomore was the lone Wildcat remaining in the main draw.
In the top half of the consolation draw, freshman Mark Schanerman (North Miami Beach, Fla./Dr. Michael M. Krop HS) advanced to the semifinal with three straight-set wins on Sunday. He started the day with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Iowa's Austen Kauss and continued with another 6-1, 6-4 result, this one a victory over PSU's Bryan Welnetz. He cruised into the semis with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Minnesota's Jonathan Hadash.
Schanerman's opponent in the semifinal will be fellow Wildcat Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill), whose road on Sunday was a bit tougher. In his first match, which was in the bottom half of the draw, the Wildcat junior narrowly defeated Penn State's Guillaume St. Maurice, 10-8 in the superbreaker.
McCarthy continued with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Illini Conor Roth. The Wildcat junior then switched places with Indiana's Will Kendall and moved to the top half of the draw, where he defeated Minnesota's Philip Arndt, 6-1, 3-6, 10-8, in the quarterfinal.
In the bottom half of the draw, NU's Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) will face Indiana's Kendall in Monday's semifinal. Sanborn's three Sunday matches all came down to third set superbreakers, showing the senior's ability to handle pressure situations.
Sanborn began Sunday's play with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 win over PSU's Warren Hardie. He beat another Nittany Lion, C.J. Griffing, 6-0, 4-6, 10-3 in the next round before defeating Minnesota's Julian Dehn, 1-6, 6-4, 10-5, for a spot in the semifinals.
Freshman Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) started the day with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over MSU's Jason Norville, but was unable to continue his winning ways. He fell in a tough three-setter to Minnesota's Hadash, with the match coming down to a 10-8 decision in the superbreaker.
Sophomore Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck), a consolation semifinalist in last year's event, advanced the quarterfinals this year, where his run was stopped short by Indiana's Kendall. He started the day with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Purdue's Paul Foley. Reitz continued, defeating Minnesota's Brendon Ruddock 1-6, 6-4, 10-8, before falling to Kendall, 6-1, 6-4.
Monday's play will begin at 9 a.m. EST. with the finals of both the main draw and consolation draw played at 12 p.m.
