Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Travel to Face the Irish
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 18, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern travels to Eck Tennis Pavilion Thursday, Feb. 19, to face No. 25 Notre Dame in its first dual against a nationally ranked opponent. Both teams are on a roll as the Wildcats (8-0) look to continue their unbeaten streak against the Irish (5-4), winners of their last four in a row. Play is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Team captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) is undefeated in both singles and doubles so far in the dual match season. Partnered with freshman Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wisc./Nicolet), the duo has produced an 8-0 record, anchoring the No. 2 spot.
SCOUTING THE IRISH
Led by No. 20 Brett Helgeson, Notre Dame is riding a four-match win streak, including victories over No. 36 Duke and No. 26 Texas Tech. Notre Dame's last defeat came at the hands of No. 12 Tulsa at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Helgeson is riding a three-match win streak of his own as he holds a 5-3 record at No. 1 singles.
The doubles tandem of Helgeson and Tyler Davis, ranked No. 37 nationally, has a 5-4 record at No. 1 doubles. No. 112 Daniel Stahl is a freshman making an impact as he holds a 4-2 record at No. 3 singles for the Irish.
HEAD TO HEAD
The all-time series is tied at 37 so both teams will be looking to tip the scale in their favor. The Irish, ranked No. 11 at the time, posted a 7-0 victory over the `Cats last January in Evanston.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats won both matches of their Sunday doubleheader in convincing fashion as they dropped Ball State, 6-1, and Lewis, 7-0, to improve to 8-0 on the season.
Against Ball State, the `Cats played well under pressure and delivered close wins at all three spots in the most tightly contested doubles point of the season. Freshman Josh Graves clinched it at No. 6 with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-sets win over Ball State's Cliff Morrison.
Northwestern continued its stellar play against Lewis. The Wildcats won the doubles point in under 30 minutes thanks to quick finishes at No. 2 and No. 3. With the doubles point in hand, it was off to the races as the `Cats won four matches with identical 6-0, 6-0 scores in less than 40 minutes.
