Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Northwestern Falls to Indiana, 6-1
3/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 28, 2010
Results
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a match much closer than the score indicates, Big Ten foe Indiana defeated Northwestern, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at Combe Tennis Center, dropping the 'Cats to 0-2 in the Big Ten on the season. Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) notched the 'Cats' lone point with a marathon three-setter at No. 2 that ended 15-13 in the third set breaker.
Though the Hoosiers won eight of the nine singles and doubles matches on the day, nearly all of them were hard-fought affairs. Two singles matches were decided by third set tiebreaks and No. 1 singles came down to a match tiebreak, showing how close the competition truly was.
The last match on court was No. 2 singles between McCarthy and IU's Jeremy Langer and though the dual was already clinched in Indiana's favor, the Wildcat junior never let up. Langer took the first set, 6-1, but McCarthy broke early in the second and held on to even the match.
In the next frame, McCarthy saved a match point with a service winner while trying to even the match at 5-all. He then broke Langer to take a 6-5 lead only to have the Hoosier break back and force a tiebreak.
With all fans focused on court 4, McCarthy and Langer each saved match points multiple times as neither player gave an inch in the tiebreak. The Wildcat junior finally took it, 15-13, to get the 'Cats on the board. With the win, McCarthy also snapped a five-match losing streak.
Earlier in the day, Indiana swept the three doubles matches to take a 1-0 advantage. Will Kendall and Stephen Vogl clinched it for the Hoosiers with an 8-3 win at No. 3 over Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) and Mark Schanerman (N. Miami Beach, Fla./Krop).
In singles, Schanerman fell to Kendall in straight sets at No. 6, giving the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead. Freshman Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) also dropped his No. 4 singles match in straight sets to Santiago Gruter, 6-2, 7-5.
With the 'Cats trailing 0-3, captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) put utmost effort in keeping NU alive at No. 5 singles. The Wildcat senior and the Hoosiers' Isade Juneau sped through the first two sets in 45 minutes, making for quite the battle in the third.
Juneau broke to take a 4-2 lead and served for the match, up 5-4, only to get broken with a forehand into the net. The Hoosier broke back to take a 6-5 advantage and again serve for it, only to have Sanborn stand strong again and break to send it to a tiebreak. Juneau took the breaker, 7-2, to clinch the dual for the Hoosiers.
At No. 3, Sidarth Balaji (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had his four-match win streak snapped by reigning Big Ten Singles Champion Josh MacTaggart. MacTaggart took the first set before the Wildcat freshman stampeded through the second, 6-2. The Hoosier then took the match in the third frame, 6-0.
Josh Graves faced off against Lachlan Ferguson, a 2009 All-Big Ten selection, at No. 1 singles. Ferguson came out on top in a tough first set, 6-4, before Graves clawed back to take the second and force a super tiebreak because the dual was already decided. It was a battle, but the Hoosier junior managed to escape with a 10-8 decision in the breaker to take the match.
Northwestern is heading on the road for its next three Big Ten duals, taking on Michigan State and Michigan on April 2 and 3, respectively.
#40 Indiana 6, #45 Northwestern 1
Singles
1. Lachlan Ferguson (IU) def. Joshua Graves (NU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Andrew McCarthy (NU) def. Jeremy Langer (IU) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (15-13)
3. Josh MacTaggart (IU) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-0
4. Santiago Gruter (IU) def. Spencer Wolf (NU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Isade Juneau (IU) def. Alex Sanborn (NU) 0-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Will Kendall (IU) def. Mark Schanerman (NU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Lachlan Ferguson/Josh MacTaggart (IU) def. Andrew McCarthy/Tobias Reitz (NU) 8-7 (7-5)
2. Santiago Gruter/Jeremy Langer (IU) def. Alex Sanborn/Spencer Wolf (NU) 8-5
3. Will Kendall/Stephen Vogl (IU) def. Joshua Graves/Mark Schanerman (NU) 8-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,5,3,1,2)
