Friday, January 22
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
2 p.m.
Northwestern
4
vs
1
Tulsa
Wildcats Advance to Finals at ITA Kick-Off Weekend
1/22/2016 5:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
URBANA, Ill. – Northwestern advanced to the finals of ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 4-1 win over No. 24 Tulsa Friday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Ill.
The 25th-ranked Wildcats will play the winner of No. 7 Illinois and No. 36 Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Saturday evening with a spot in the ITA National Indoors on the line.
"The guys fought very hard today," head coach Arvid Swan said. "Tulsa is a very good team, and the match was extremely competitive. It was great to see a complete team effort with singles and doubles."
Doubles got the day rolling for Chicago's Big Ten Team, as Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer, the nation's 52nd-ranked tandem, won at No. 1, 6-3. They were followed by Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz who posted a win No. 3 by the same score.
Konrad Zieba, after two unfinished matches last weekend, got on the board first in singles with a straight set win over No. 51 Or Ram-Harel. Zieba, ranked 16th by the ITA, is now 6-2 against ranked opponents this season.
No. 55 Kirchheimer pulled the Wildcats to within one of the clinching point with a straight set win at No. 3 over Majed Kilani. The junior fought through a tiebreak in the first set before winning handily in the second. Baev then finished off Tulsa with a three-set win at No. 4.
Shropshire and Vandixhorn both held third-set leads in the unfinished singles matches.
"We expect another competitive match tomorrow against either Illinois or Notre Dame," Swan said. "There is a lot on the line with a spot at national indoors."
Fans can follow along with live scoring all weekend at FightingIllini.com. Follow @NUMensTennis on Twitter for updates from tomorrow's final.
#25 Northwestern 4, #24 Tulsa 1
Singles Results
No. 1 – #16 Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #51 Or Ram-Harel (TU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – #50 Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Carlos Bautista (TU), 2-6, 6-4, 5-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 – #55 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Majed Kilani (TU), 7-6, 6-3*
No. 4 – Fedor Baev (NU) def. Matthew Kirby (TU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Juan Matias-Gonzalez (TU) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Mitchell Pritchard (TU), 3-6, 7-5, 3-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 3*
Doubles Results
No. 1 – #52 Baev/Kirchheimer (NU) def. McCloskey/Kirby (TU), 6-3
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) vs. Kellerman/Kellerman (TU), 5-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Kumar/Horoz (NU) def. Matias-Gonzalez/Bautista (TU), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
The 25th-ranked Wildcats will play the winner of No. 7 Illinois and No. 36 Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Saturday evening with a spot in the ITA National Indoors on the line.
"The guys fought very hard today," head coach Arvid Swan said. "Tulsa is a very good team, and the match was extremely competitive. It was great to see a complete team effort with singles and doubles."
Doubles got the day rolling for Chicago's Big Ten Team, as Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer, the nation's 52nd-ranked tandem, won at No. 1, 6-3. They were followed by Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz who posted a win No. 3 by the same score.
Konrad Zieba, after two unfinished matches last weekend, got on the board first in singles with a straight set win over No. 51 Or Ram-Harel. Zieba, ranked 16th by the ITA, is now 6-2 against ranked opponents this season.
No. 55 Kirchheimer pulled the Wildcats to within one of the clinching point with a straight set win at No. 3 over Majed Kilani. The junior fought through a tiebreak in the first set before winning handily in the second. Baev then finished off Tulsa with a three-set win at No. 4.
Shropshire and Vandixhorn both held third-set leads in the unfinished singles matches.
"We expect another competitive match tomorrow against either Illinois or Notre Dame," Swan said. "There is a lot on the line with a spot at national indoors."
Fans can follow along with live scoring all weekend at FightingIllini.com. Follow @NUMensTennis on Twitter for updates from tomorrow's final.
#25 Northwestern 4, #24 Tulsa 1
Singles Results
No. 1 – #16 Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #51 Or Ram-Harel (TU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – #50 Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Carlos Bautista (TU), 2-6, 6-4, 5-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 – #55 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Majed Kilani (TU), 7-6, 6-3*
No. 4 – Fedor Baev (NU) def. Matthew Kirby (TU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Juan Matias-Gonzalez (TU) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Mitchell Pritchard (TU), 3-6, 7-5, 3-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 3*
Doubles Results
No. 1 – #52 Baev/Kirchheimer (NU) def. McCloskey/Kirby (TU), 6-3
No. 2 – Zieba/Shropshire (NU) vs. Kellerman/Kellerman (TU), 5-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Kumar/Horoz (NU) def. Matias-Gonzalez/Bautista (TU), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
••••••
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