Box Score | Season Stats | Tournament Central 

Post-Match Interviews: Swan | Shropshire

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 4-1 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at the Combe Tennis Center.
 
The regional final will pit No. 14 Northwestern (26-4) against No. 29 Stanford (15-10), who beat Notre Dame earlier Saturday by a 4-1 score. The match will be played outdoors at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, and the winner will advance to the Round of 16 next weekend in Tulsa, Okla.
 
"It's win or you're done," head coach Arvid Swan said. "I thought we did a good job today against a very good Valpo team. I thought it was a good job by our guys to play through a very competitive match."
 
Northwestern kept up its season-long dominance of doubles play, winning the match's opening point with victories at Nos. 2 and 3.  Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire put up a convincing 6-2 score at No. 2, while Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz followed with a 6-3 decision to close it out. The win was the 20th of the season for the Wildcats' No. 3 duo.
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Shropshire made quick work of Chad Kissell at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win. The 40th-ranked Shropshire picked up his 19th win of the season and improved to 6-1 in his last seven matches.
 
Valparaiso earned its lone point of the day as Charlie Emhardt defeated Fedor Baev 6-2, 7-5 at No. 4.
 
Northwestern responded to take a commanding 3-1 lead when No. 57 Strong Kirchheimer rallied in the second set to knock off Dave Bacalla 6-2, 7-5. Kirchheimer trailed 5-2 at one point, but ran off five straight games to close the match. He improved to 29-3 on the season and currently holds a 13-match winning streak.
 
"He doesn't lose much," Swan said. "When you have the record he has, he is very confident. He doesn't panic."

Ben Vandixhorn sealed the deal for Northwestern with a win at No. 5. With the match knotted at 3-3 in the third set, Vandixhorn coolly dispatched Garrett Gardner for the 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win. The Northwestern freshman has 21 wins on the season, a seven-match winning streak and six match-clinching points.
 
Chicago's Big Ten Team gets things underway in the regional final against Stanford at 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
#14 Northwestern 4, Valparaiso 1
 
Singles
No. 1 – #20 Konrad Zieba (NU) vs. Jeffrey Schorsch (VALPO), 6-3, 6-7 (6)  (unfinished)
No. 2 – #40 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Chad Kissell (VALPO), 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – #57 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Dave Bacalla (VALPO), 6-1, 7-5
No. 4 – Charlie Emhardt (VALPO) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 6-2, 7-5
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn  (NU) def.  Garrett Gardner (VALPO), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3*
No. 6 – Alp Horoz (NU) vs. Kyle Dunn (VALPO), 6-4, 4-4 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3, 5*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Schorsch/Emhardt (VALPO) vs. Baev/Kirchheimer (NU), 5-3 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) def. Bacalla/Gardner (VALPO), 6-2
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) def. Kissell/Dunn (VALPO), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*

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