Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Head to Lexington to Face Demon Deacons
5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 6, 2009
2009 NCAA Championship Match Notes 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 42 Northwestern (18-8) will play in its first NCAA Tournament match since 2005 when it takes on No. 18 Wake Forest (20-9) Friday morning in Kentucky. The winner of the match will play the winner of the other first round match in the regional between host Kentucky and Cleveland State. Click here to access the NCAA Tournament Central.
Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) and Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) lead the 'Cats with 25 wins apiece. Thams' latest victory came during the Big Ten Tournament as he gave NU its first point against Michigan with a straight-set victory over Andrew Mazlin at No. 2. He and sophomore Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) anchor the No. 3 doubles spot with a 16-5 record.
Admission to the event at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex is $10 for Adults and $6 for Children/Seniors for both days. For single day passes, the prices are $6 and $4, respectively.
SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest is making its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, led by senior leader Cory Parr, who is the 10th-ranked player in the nation. Parr teams up with junior Steven Forman to form the country's No. 6 doubles tandem, anchoring the No. 1 doubles spot with a 19-6 record.
The Wildcats will be the fifth Big Ten opponent for the Demon Deacons this season, who have a 1-3 record against Big Ten foes. Wake Forest lost to Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin in February before posting its lone Big Ten victory over Michigan in March. NU defeated both Minnesota and Wisconsin in regular season play.
Wake Forest finished the season on a strong note in the ACC tournament, defeating Virginia Tech and No. 22 Miami before falling in the final to No. 1 Virginia.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 42 Northwestern dropped a heartbreaking 4-2 match to tournament host Michigan in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament. It was déjà vu to the March 29 regular season dual between the two teams, which was also determined by a three-set win by Jason Jung over NU's Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska - Independent Study H.S.) at No. 1 singles.
On a sunny but blustery day with winds averaging 20 miles per hour and gusting to 30, the match of the tournament thus far was a gritty No. 3 singles match between Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) and Mike Sroczynski. With Michigan leading the dual 3-1, Wildcat freshman saved three match points to keep the `Cats' hopes alive and continue play in the three remaining matches on court.
