Northwestern Dominates in Taking Down Western Illinois, 7-0

2/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Feb. 19, 2011

Complete Results

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: No. 69 Northwestern 7, Western Illinois 0
Records: NU (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) Western Illinois (2-4, 0-0 Summit)
Next NU Event: Friday, Feb. 25 vs. Western Michigan • Evanston, Ill. • 6 p.m.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern concluded a weekend trifecta of home matches with a convincing 7-0 win over Western Illinois Saturday night in Evanston. Riding the momentum off a 6-1 defeat of Northern Illinois earlier in the day, NU never faced a serious challenge from the visiting Leathernecks, moving to 7-3 on the season with the victory.

"I thought we bounced back well after a tough match last night, especially considering we aren't quite 100 percent healthy," said NU head coach Arvid Swan. "We avoided a let-down today and we're looking forward to continuing to improve this week in practice."

The Wildcats came firing right out of the gates, led primarily by sophomore Chris Jackman and freshman Raleigh Smith at No. 3 doubles. The duo capped off an undefeated weekend with a rapid 8-0 dismantling of their opponents to move to 5-0 on the season.

While NU got off to quick starts on both the remaining doubles courts, Western Illinois began holding serve to make things interesting. At No. 1 doubles, senior Andrew McCarthy and junior Tobias Reitz got out to an early 4-0 lead, but Jeff Cote and Patrick Hammers were able to fight back to 7-4. Facing two break points, Reitz came up with consecutive big serves to save them both before McCarthy forced an errant forehand to seal the 8-4 win.

With the doubles point in hand, sophomore Spencer Wolf and junior Eric Spector completed the sweep by taking No. 2, 8-4, over Mandela Shepard and Francisco Ortiz. The pair notched their second win of the day, and brought NU's total doubles record for the weekend to 8-1.

The Wildcats' singles lineup differed from the norm due to the absence of key contributors Joshua Graves and Sidarth Balaji, yet the home team once again came out strong, never giving the Leathernecks a chance to get in the match. The good play was contagious, as all six 'Cats jumped out to 4-1 leads in their respective matches.

Chris Jackman, who is a combined 6-2 playing at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, slotted up to No. 3 and looked extremely comfortable, capitalizing on his early lead and cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Tobias Reitz soon followed, taking down Mandela Shepard 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 to put NU up 3-0 in the team score.

Playing for the first time at No. 2 this season, Andrew McCarthy held off a late challenge to take the first set 6-3. The team's lone senior used his experience to clamp down in the second, wearing down Patrick Hammers and clinching the match for Northwestern 6-3, 6-1.

At No. 6, Eric Spector captured his first dual win of the season 6-1, 6-4. A quick first set was followed by tight back-and-forth play in the second, until Spector was able to convert a late break to produce the final margin.

For the first time this season, head coach Arvid Swan needed to fill in someone's name other than Joshua Graves at the No. 1 singles spot. Fortunately for Northwestern, Spencer Wolf was up to the task. The sophomore played his best tennis in the big points at the end of both sets, posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

After easily taking the first set 6-1, Raleigh Smith looked like he was headed for a third set when his 3-1 second set lead turned into a 5-3 deficit at No. 5. However, Smith quickly found his game once again and reeled off four consecutive games to take the match 6-1, 7-5 and clinch the sweep for the Wildcats.

Northwestern continues its current four-match homestand next weekend, hosting Western Michigan for High School Night on at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25.

No. 69 Northwestern 7, Western Illinois 0
Singles:
1: Spencer Wolf (NU) def. Jeff Cote (WIU), 6-3, 6-3
2: Andrew McCarthy (NU) def. Patrick Hammers (WIU), 6-3, 6-1
3: Chris Jackman (NU) def. Alejandro Buceta (WIU), 6-1, 6-1
4: Tobias Reitz (NU) def. Mandela Shepard (WIU), 6-1, 6-0
5: Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Francisco Ortiz (WIU), 6-2, 7-5
6: Eric Spector (NU) def. Jim Capalbo (WIU), 6-1, 6-4

Doubles:
1: McCarthy/Reitz (NU) def. Cote/Hammers (WIU), 8-4
2: Spector/Wolf (NU) def. Shepard/Ortiz (WIU), 8-4
3: Smith/Jackman (NU) def. Buceta/Yue (WIU), 8-0

Order of Finish:
Singles (3, 4, 2*, 6, 1, 5)
Doubles (3, 1*, 2)

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