Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ball State
NU Overwhelms Ball State, 6-1
2/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 15, 2009
Results
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Facing its toughest home dual of the season thus far, Northwestern stepped up to the challenge and posted a 6-1 victory over Ball State Sunday afternoon at Combe Tennis Center. With their seventh win of the season, the Wildcats have matched last season's win total and look to surpass it as they face Lewis at 5 p.m. in the second match of their doubleheader.
In the most tightly contested doubles point of the season, the `Cats played well under pressure and delivered close wins at all three spots.
Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) and Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska - Independent Study H.S.) started it off for the `Cats with an 8-4 win at No. 1 over Ball State's Jose Perdomo and Jorge Rodriguez. The `Cats got out to an early lead thanks to a Dwyer overhead smash and breezed through the first few games to get to a 5-1 lead. But, Ball State fought back and heavily contested Reitz's serve at 6-3, forcing multiple deuces. The Wildcats prevailed and had to save two break points as Dwyer served for the match at 7-3, winning it with a service winner.
The doubles point came down to the wire as the matches at No. 2 and No. 3 were tightly contested from start to finish. At No. 2, Eduardo Pavia and Andres Monroy led Northwestern's Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Nicolet) for most of the match, breaking early after a breathtaking volley exchange. The `Cats fought to deuce down 4-6 and 5-7, but both times Ball State managed to hold. With the Cardinals serving for the match up 7-6, the Wildcat duo finally capitalized on their chances and evened the match at 7-all. The `Cats then held at love on Sanborn's serve and broke the Cards off a Graves backhand for the 9-7 victory.
Meanwhile, on court 2, No. 3 doubles between NU's Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) and Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) and Ball State's Shawn Bussert and Zane Smith was just as intense. The two teams traded breaks early, but the `Cats managed to consolidate and hold on to serve for the match. Ball State managed to break for 7-all and then the two teams each held to send it into a tiebreak. The breaker started off close, but then Thams managed to secure a mini-break with a backhand return winner down the line and NU held on for the 9-8(5) victory.
The Wildcat momentum continued into singles as NU jumped out to early leads on several courts. At No. 5, Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) traded breaks with Bussert to start the match before taking control and cruising to a 6-2 opening set win. The Cardinal started the second set off well with an early break, but Spector stormed back with two of his own and served out the match with an ace.
At No. 3, Thams dropped his opening service game against Jorge Rodriguez, but fought his way back into the match by forcing a volley error to even it up at 4-4. The Wildcat then held for 5-4 and broke again to win the set, 6-4. His momentum continued into the second set as he cruised to a 6-3 victory.
Freshman Josh Graves clinched it for the `Cats at No. 6 with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win over Ball State's Cliff Morrison.
The next match off the courts was at No. 4 singles between Sanborn and Monroy. Up an early break, Sanborn got broken in a tough game and the match was evened at 4-4 before the Wildcat promptly broke back and served out the set, 6-4. In the second, the Wildcat's fitness showed as his opponent suffered from leg cramps and Sanborn cruised to a 6-2 win.
NU's sixth win came at No. 1, where Dwyer defeated the Mid-American Conference's current Player of the Week, Jose Perdomo, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7. After two tough sets, the match went into a tiebreak because the dual was already clinched. Dwyer led throughout and clinched it on a service winner.
At No. 2, Reitz fell in a hard-fought match to the Ball State's Pavia, 7-6, 6-3. Neither player dropped serve in the first set, forcing a breaker that the Cardinal just barely won.
The Wildcats continue their Sunday doubleheader as they face Lewis University at 5 p.m.
