EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 20 Northwestern cruised to a commanding 6-1 victory over No. 30 North Carolina State on Friday, extending its winning streak to six matches.
 
The Wildcats are off to a 9-1 start, their best 10-match record since 2008-09.
 
"The guys competed hard again tonight in every spot," head coach Arvid Swan said. "We played good doubles to start the match which helped going into singles."
 
Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar got off to a quick start in No. 3 doubles and downed Thomas Weigel and Shoti Meparidze 6-2. Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire secured the doubles point for the team after finishing their set against Ivan and Igor Saveljic at 6-4.
 
Fedor Baev earned the second point of the contest at the No. 4 singles position with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ivan Saveljic.
 
Strong Kirchheimer extended the lead to 3-0 after taking care of business against Thomas Weigel 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 3 position.
 
The Wildcats secured the victory after Ben Vandixhorn pulled out the second set tiebreak at 9-7 to defeat Igor Saveljic 6-4, 7-6 (7) for the fourth point.
 
The No. 1 singles match featured two ranked opponents in No. 14 Konrad Zieba and #53 Nick Horton. After Horton won the second set tiebreak to even the match at one set apiece, Zieba convincingly took the third set tiebreak at 10-3 to give Northwestern a 5-0 lead.
 
The Wolfpack picked up its lone point of the day at No. 2 singles, but Alp Horoz finished off a strong day for the Wildcats with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Shoti Meparidze in a tightly contested match.
 
The 'Cats are back in action for a doubleheader at Combe Tennis Center on Sunday against No. 32 Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. and UIC at 5 p.m.
 
#20 Northwestern 6, #30 North Carolina State 1
 
Singles
No. 1 – #14 Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #53 Nick Horton (NCST), 6-4, 6-7, 10-3
No. 2 – #74 Simon Norenius (NCST) def. #57 Sam Shropshire (NU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 – #77 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Thomas Weigel (NCST), 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Fedor Baev (NU) def. Ivan Saveljic (NCST), 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 – Alp Horoz (NU) def. Shoti Meparidze (NCST), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
No. 6 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Igor Saveljic (NCST), 6-4, 7-6 (7)*
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6*, 1, 2, 5
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Baev/Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Horton/Norenius (NCST), 5-4 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) def. Saveljic/Saveljic (NCST), 6-4*
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) def. Weigel/Meparidze (NCST), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
 

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