Northwestern University Athletics
`Cats Ready to Continue Conference Play
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten slate continues this weekend for the Wildcats as they face a pair of conference duals on consecutive days. Northwestern (13-6, 1-3) looks to notch its second conference win when they travel to face the Purdue Boilermakers (6-10, 0-4) Friday afternoon. The 'Cats then face a quick turnaround as they travel home to Combe Tennis Center Saturday afternoon to host the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers (13-5, 2-2) at 3 p.m.
Junior captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and freshman Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) lead the 'Cats with 14 wins each. Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) holds a 10-2 record and looks to improve upon a four-match win streak.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue, winless in conference play thus far, is led in singles victories by senior P.J. Rose, who is on a three-match win streak, and junior Slavko Bijelica. They each hold 10-5 records in the dual season.
Play at Schwartz Tennis Center is set for 2 p.m. CT. Last weekend, the Boilermakers fell 5-2 at the University of Indiana, taking two singles matches at No. 3 and No. 4.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
No. 24 Wisconsin, the third-ranked squad in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Illinois, is on a three-match win streak. The Badgers are led by junior Moritz Baumann, ranked No. 31 in the nation, and sophomore Marek Michalicka, ranked No. 47. Baumann and Michalicka also team up to form the 15th-ranked tandem in the nation behind a 14-2 dual match record.
The Badgers swept all three doubles matches en route to a 6-1 victory over Michigan State Sunday. Baumann recorded his 18th victory of the dual match season and remained undefeated.
Play between the Wildcats and Badgers will begin at 3 p.m. CT Saturday at Combe Tennis Center. This match is also the Chipotle BIG match in which the first 50 students in attendance will receive a free Chipotle coupon.
LOOKING AHEAD
The 'Cats host Minnesota and Iowa in their last home weekend of the season April 11-12. Sunday's match against Iowa will be Senior Day honoring Alexander Thams, Marc Dwyer and Philip Kafka.
