Northwestern University Athletics
Three Wildcats Ranked in Preseason Top-50
9/13/2016 4:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ITA Rankings
EVANSTON, Ill. – The ITA released its national preseason rankings on Tuesday, and three Wildcats are ranked in the top-50.
Konrad Zieba (No. 12), Sam Shropshire (No. 32) and Strong Kirchheimer (No. 44) each enter their senior seasons on the heels of award-winning junior years. Each was named to the All-Big Ten first team, and all three were selected for the NCAA singles tournament in 2016.
Zieba also recently competed in the American Collegiate Invitational at the U.S. Open, a single-elimination tournament for eight of the most elite players in college tennis. He is coming off a 21-win season, 14 of which came against ranked opponents.
Kirchheimer posted one of the winningest seasons in Northwestern history, becoming just the 15th player to win 30 times in one season. He entered the NCAA tournament on a 14-match winning streak to close out dual play. Shropshire also won 21 matches, with 11 of those coming against ranked opponents. He ended the dual season by winning 12 of 14.
A pair of doubles teams was also recognized in the preseason rankings. Kirchheimer and sophomore Ben Vandixhorn begin the year at No. 49, and Shropshire and Zieba come in at No. 53. The latter duo was 19-4 last season, good for the sixth-most wins and third-best winning percentage in program history.
Northwestern set program records for wins (26) and winning percentage (.839) last season and reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings.
EVANSTON, Ill. – The ITA released its national preseason rankings on Tuesday, and three Wildcats are ranked in the top-50.
Konrad Zieba (No. 12), Sam Shropshire (No. 32) and Strong Kirchheimer (No. 44) each enter their senior seasons on the heels of award-winning junior years. Each was named to the All-Big Ten first team, and all three were selected for the NCAA singles tournament in 2016.
Zieba also recently competed in the American Collegiate Invitational at the U.S. Open, a single-elimination tournament for eight of the most elite players in college tennis. He is coming off a 21-win season, 14 of which came against ranked opponents.
Kirchheimer posted one of the winningest seasons in Northwestern history, becoming just the 15th player to win 30 times in one season. He entered the NCAA tournament on a 14-match winning streak to close out dual play. Shropshire also won 21 matches, with 11 of those coming against ranked opponents. He ended the dual season by winning 12 of 14.
A pair of doubles teams was also recognized in the preseason rankings. Kirchheimer and sophomore Ben Vandixhorn begin the year at No. 49, and Shropshire and Zieba come in at No. 53. The latter duo was 19-4 last season, good for the sixth-most wins and third-best winning percentage in program history.
Northwestern set program records for wins (26) and winning percentage (.839) last season and reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings.
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