Northwestern University Athletics
Shropshire Advances to NCAA Round of 32
5/25/2016 6:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis
2016 NCAA Bracket
TULSA, Okla. – Northwestern junior Sam Shropshire advanced to the Round of 32 at the NCAA singles tournament with a three-set win in the first round on Wednesday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Shropshire's match came down to the wire in the final set, and while facing match point twice, he served back-to-back aces to tie the frame at 5. The Northwestern junior went on to win the next two games as well to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time.
He held off No. 115 Alec Adamson (UC-Davis) at several critical junctures to improve to 21-8, earning his 11th win over a ranked opponent.
Adamson erased a 4-1 first set deficit to send it to a tiebreak, where Shropshire took care of business to gain the early upper hand. Shropshire then got down 4-0 in the second before charging back to tie it at four, but Adamson was able to ultimately win the frame. That set up Shropshire's third set, where he went up 3-1, got down 5-4, and then came back to earn the win.
"We have a lot of confidence in Sam in close matches," head coach Arvid Swan said. "He has won so many matches in his career in three sets. It is great for Sam to advance and have another opportunity to play tomorrow."
Shropshire will square off against TCU's Cameron Norrie, the tournament's No. 5 overall seed. The two met earlier this season in a dual match at TCU on March 22, where Norrie won 6-2, 6-3.
Strong Kirchheimer saw his remarkable season come to an end on Wednesday. He was matched up against Notre Dame's Quentin Monaghan, and the 35th-ranked Monaghan won in straight sets.
Kirchheimer ends the 2016 season with a 30-4 record. He is one of only 15 players in program history to reach the 30-win mark.
Konrad Zieba also fell in the first round in straight sets to No. 48 Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa. Ram-Harel jumped out to big leads in both sets on his home court to pull out the win.
Zieba finishes with a 21-10 record and 14 wins against ranked opponents. He is currently ranked 20th nationally, the cutoff line to earn All-America status.
For more information on the 2016 NCAA tournament, visit the tournament central page.
NCAA First Round Results
#48 Or Ram-Harel (Tulsa) def. #20 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-2, 6-4
#40 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #115 Alec Adamson (UC-Davis), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5
#35 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. #57 Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4, 6-0
TULSA, Okla. – Northwestern junior Sam Shropshire advanced to the Round of 32 at the NCAA singles tournament with a three-set win in the first round on Wednesday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Shropshire's match came down to the wire in the final set, and while facing match point twice, he served back-to-back aces to tie the frame at 5. The Northwestern junior went on to win the next two games as well to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time.
He held off No. 115 Alec Adamson (UC-Davis) at several critical junctures to improve to 21-8, earning his 11th win over a ranked opponent.
Adamson erased a 4-1 first set deficit to send it to a tiebreak, where Shropshire took care of business to gain the early upper hand. Shropshire then got down 4-0 in the second before charging back to tie it at four, but Adamson was able to ultimately win the frame. That set up Shropshire's third set, where he went up 3-1, got down 5-4, and then came back to earn the win.
"We have a lot of confidence in Sam in close matches," head coach Arvid Swan said. "He has won so many matches in his career in three sets. It is great for Sam to advance and have another opportunity to play tomorrow."
Shropshire will square off against TCU's Cameron Norrie, the tournament's No. 5 overall seed. The two met earlier this season in a dual match at TCU on March 22, where Norrie won 6-2, 6-3.
Strong Kirchheimer saw his remarkable season come to an end on Wednesday. He was matched up against Notre Dame's Quentin Monaghan, and the 35th-ranked Monaghan won in straight sets.
Kirchheimer ends the 2016 season with a 30-4 record. He is one of only 15 players in program history to reach the 30-win mark.
Konrad Zieba also fell in the first round in straight sets to No. 48 Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa. Ram-Harel jumped out to big leads in both sets on his home court to pull out the win.
Zieba finishes with a 21-10 record and 14 wins against ranked opponents. He is currently ranked 20th nationally, the cutoff line to earn All-America status.
For more information on the 2016 NCAA tournament, visit the tournament central page.
NCAA First Round Results
#48 Or Ram-Harel (Tulsa) def. #20 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-2, 6-4
#40 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #115 Alec Adamson (UC-Davis), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5
#35 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. #57 Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4, 6-0
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