Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Northwestern got right back on track with a 4-2 win at No. 54 Purdue on Friday night to improve to 15-2.
 
Just three days after having their 11-match winning streak snapped by No. 3 TCU, the 12th-ranked Wildcats moved to 2-0 in the Big Ten with a hard-fought road win. Strong Kirchheimer, ranked No. 97, provided the match-clinching point with a 6-1 win in the third set over Ricky Medinilla at No. 3.
 
"It was great to have Strong clinch the match for us," head coach Arvid Swan said. "He really played high level tennis in the third set."
 
Kirchheimer improved to 19-3 (13-1) with the win.
 
The Wildcats cruised to the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar took down Mateus Silva and Renan Hanayama in the third spot, and Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer followed shortly after at No. 1 over Dominik Sochurek and Ricky Medinilla to give Northwestern the first point of the match.
 
Sam Shropshire, who moved up more than 40 spots to No. 42 in the most recent ITA rankings, looked absolutely dominant at No. 2 with a straight-set win over No. 57 Benjamin Ugarte to make it 2-0 Northwestern.
 
Purdue bounced back with a win at No. 1, before Horoz put Chicago's Big Ten Team firmly in control with another straight set win at No. 6. The Boilermakers managed to grab another point with a win at No. 4, but Kirchheimer put the match away with his win.
 
"Great team win for us today," Swan said. "Purdue is an excellent team, and it is not easy to win there. I was proud of the way the team competed through the momentum swings during the match."
 
The Wildcats will look to stay perfect at home during a Sunday doubleheader vs. Indiana at noon and IUPUI at 6:30 p.m.
 
#12 Northwestern 4, #54 Purdue 2
 
Singles
No. 1 – #51 Gergely Madarasz (PUR) def. #13 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – #42 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #57 Benjamin Ugarte (PUR), 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 – #97 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Ricky Medinilla (PUR), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1*
No. 4 – Dominik Sochurek (PUR) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Mateus Silva (PUR), 4-6, 7-6, 2-5 (unfinished)
No. 6 – Alp Horoz (NU) def. Lucas Dages (PUR), 7-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 6, 4, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Baev/Kirchheimer (NU) def. Sochurek/Medinilla (PUR), 6-1*
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) vs. Madarsz/Ugarte (PUR), 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) def. Silva/Hanayama (PUR), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
 

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