Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio State
Wildcats Drop 6-1 Decision to Buckeyes
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 23, 2010
Results
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Vandy Christie Tennis Center/Combe Tennis Center)
Score: Ohio State 6, Northwestern 1
Records: NU (9-13, 1-8 Big Ten), Ohio State (28-1, 9-0 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, April 25 — vs. Penn State (Combe Tennis Center), 10 a.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In its penultimate regular season dual, Northwestern dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 4 Ohio State Friday evening. The elements played a role in the dual as rain started to fall just as doubles concluded, forcing play indoors to Combe Tennis Center. Freshman Sidarth Balaji (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) knocked off No. 103 Dino Marcan in straight sets to claim the sole NU point.
“Ohio State is a very strong team,” said head coach Arvid Swan. “There's a reason why they haven't lost in the conference this season, but our guys fought hard. Sid and Josh both played great matches today.”
The 'Cats will host Penn State Sunday to conclude the 2010 regular season; play is set to start at 10 a.m. Senior captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) will be honored during the match.
OSU took a 1-0 lead behind a sweep of the doubles matches. The Buckeyes took No. 2 and No. 3 quickly, but the 54th-ranked tandem of Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) and Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) put up a fight at No. 1 against 10th-ranked Dino Marcan and Chase Buchanan.
The teams exchanged breaks to start the match, before OSU broke again. The Buckeyes managed to hold their lead for several games until the 'Cats broke back in the 11th game. The 'Cats sent it into a tiebreak at 7-all, but the Buckeye duo came out on top, 7-3, in the breaker.
Ohio State built on its lead with a 6-2, 6-1 Matt Allare victory over NU's Chris Jackman (Key Biscayne, Fla./Gulliver Prep) at No. 6. Senior Justin Kronauge, one of OSU's winningest players of all time, defeated Wolf at No. 3, 6-1, 6-0, to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead.
Balaji found the perfect way to celebrate his birthday, upsetting No. 103 Dino Marcan at No. 2 singles. The Wildcat freshman controlled the match, attacking the net and using his forehand to direct points, forcing Marcan to cover the court. Balaji forced a forehand error from Marcan on match point to take the 6-2, 6-2 decision.
Balazs Novak clinched the dual for the Buckeyes at No. 4, defeating Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) in straight sets.
At No. 5, Sanborn faced Buckeye Shuhei Uzawa, who took the first frame, 6-2. In the second set, both players proved adept at breaking serve; there was a stretch of six consecutive breaks of serve. The OSU junior managed to take the set and the match, 6-4.
The last match on the court was a nailbiter at No. 1 singles between Graves and 10th-ranked Chase Buchanan. Buchanan, who has lost only one dual match this season, won the first set, 6-2.
The start of the second was a battle, with the players contesting each other's serves and struggling to hold. Graves got a critical break to take a 4-3 lead; break point was on a forehand that Buchanan called out, but the chair overruled. Since it was the third overrule, Graves was awarded a point at the start of his service game and he took the set, 6-4.
In the match tiebreak, the Wildcat sophomore grabbed the momentum with a minibreak in the fourth point, taking a 3-1 lead on a Buchanan forehand that sailed long. Graves smacked an ace down the T for a 4-2 lead, then followed it up with a forehand winner to go up 5-2.
Up 5-4, Graves carved a serve out wide into the ad court then finished the one-two punch with a forehand down the line. At 7-all, he tried the same combination only to have the forehand land just wide, giving Buchanan an 8-7 lead. With the match on his racket, Buchanan hit two service winners to take his 20th win at No. 1 singles.
The 'Cats are back in action Senior Day, hosting Penn State Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
#4 Ohio State 6, #57 Northwestern 1
Singles
1. #10 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #91 Joshua Graves (NU) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
2. Sidarth Balaji (NU) def. #103 Dino Marcan (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #40 Justin Kronauge (OSU) def. Spencer Wolf (NU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Andrew McCarthy (NU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) def. Alex Sanborn (NU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Matt Allare (OSU) def. Chris Jackman (NU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. #10 Dino Marcan/Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #54 Joshua Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) 8-7 (7-3)
2. Shuhei Uzawa/Matt Allare (OSU) def. Tobias Reitz/Alex Sanborn (NU) 8-1
3. Balazs Novak/Justin Kronauge (OSU) def. Andrew McCarthy/Sidarth Balaji (NU) 8-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,3,2,4,5,1)
