MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Northwestern's time at the Big Ten tournament came to an end Saturday afternoon with a 4-3 loss to Illinois in the semifinals.
 
The second-seeded Wildcats played a second straight 4-3 nail-biter against the third-seeded Illini, but fortunes were reversed this time around, as Illinois got the deciding point at No. 6.
 
Northwestern finishes the weekend with a 25-4 record this year and a No. 13 national ranking. The NCAA selection show is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The 'Cats will learn then if they will host the first weekend regional in Evanston.
 
The Wildcats struck first on Saturday with the doubles point. Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire wasted no time in their match at No. 2, coming away with a 6-0 shutout. Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz took a thriller at No. 3 with a 7-1 tiebreak to clinch the point.
 
NU came into the match 23-0 when it wins the doubles point.
 
Freshman Ben Vandixhorn required much less drama than the last time these two teams met. He won in straight sets at No. 5 over Asher Hirsch to give Northwestern an early 2-0 lead. The win was his 20th of the season.
 
Illinois then scored a couple of victories at Nos. 1 and 4 to tie the team score at two.
 
No. 75 Strong Kirchheimer beat No. 71 Aron Hiltzik with a strong comeback in the final two frames. He improved his remarkable season record to 28-3.
 
The Wildcats were unable to close the deal, however, as Illinois rattled off two more wins at Nos. 2 and 6 to move on to the Big Ten championship match against Ohio State on Sunday.
 
Stay tuned to NUsports.com and @NUMensTennis on Twitter for information on the NCAA tournament.
 
#17 Illinois 4, #13 Northwestern 3
 
Singles
No. 1 – #4 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #20 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2 – #17 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. #40 Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3
No. 3 – #75 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #71 Aron Hiltzik (ILL), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Julian Childers (ILL) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Asher Hirsch (ILL), 6-1, 7-5
No. 6 – Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4*
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4, 3, 2, 6*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Baev/Kirchheimer (NU) vs. #71 Hiltzik/Vukic (ILL), 6-6 (7-6) (unfinished)
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) def. Childers/Jiang (ILL), 6-0
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) def. Hiltzik/Hirsch (ILL), 7-6 (1)*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*

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