Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Beat Indiana in Quarters, Face Illinois in Semis
4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Results
Apr. 24, 2015
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#30 Northwestern 4, #44 Indiana 1 Atkins Tennis Center · Urbana, Ill. Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Results |
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URBANA, Ill. -- Fourth-seeded No. 30 Northwestern advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Friday with a 4-1 quarterfinal win over No. 44 Indiana, the tournament's fifth seed. In its second semifinals appearance in a row, the 'Cats take on first-seeded No. 4 Illinois on Saturday at noon.
The `Cats started the match well with two consecutive doubles wins. 58th-ranked Sam Shropshire and Alex Pasareanu won 8-3 on court 1, and Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer prevailed 8-4 at No. 2 to capture the lead-off point.
In singles play, Logan Staggs topped Raheel Manji 6-0, 6-3 at No. 4 to extend the Northwestern lead, but Sven Lalic then beat Konrad Zieba 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 for Indiana's first point.
However, the Wildcats quickly shut down any attempt of a Hoosier comeback. Alp Horoz achieved his ninth straight singles win with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Stefan Lugonjic at No. 6. Kirchheimer securedthe deciding point on court 2, besting Daniel Bednarczyk 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
The Illini are ranked No. 4 in the nation and blanked Iowa 4-0 in the quarterfinals earlier today. Illinois is 23-4 on the season and finished 10-1 in conference play, which earned it a share of the Big Ten title.
There are five ranked singles players on Illinois's roster: No. 24 Jared Hiltzik, No. 45 Farris Gosea, No. 55 Tim Kopinski, No. 63 Aron Hiltzik, and No. 66 Aleks Vukic. Kopinski and Ross Guinon make up the No. 16 doubles team, and Kopinski and Jared Hiltzik are No. 68.
The 'Cats played the Illini in both team's Big Ten opener back in mid-February. Illinois took that match 5-2.
#30 Northwestern 4, #44 Indiana 1
Doubles Results
1. #58 Sam Shropshire/Alex Pasareanu (NU) def. Daniel Bednarczyk/Sam Monette (IU) 8-3
2. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Chris Essick/Stefan Lugonjic (IU) 8-4
3. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NU) vs. Sven Lalic/Raheel Manji (IU) 4-5 (unfinished)
Order of finish: 1, 2*
Singles Results
1. #42 Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Sam Monette (IU) 7-6 (7-5), 5-4 (unfinished)
2. Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Daniel Bednarczyk (IU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
3. Sven Lalic (IU) def. Konrad Zieba (NU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Logan Staggs (NU) def. Raheel Manji (IU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Fedor Baev (NU) vs. Matthew McCoy (IU) 6-1, 3-6, 3-2 (unfinished)
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Stefan Lugonjic (IU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 3, 6, 2*
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