Friday, February 10
Raleigh, N.C.
1 p.m.
Northwestern
6
at
1
North Carolina State
Northwestern Improves to 10-0 For First Time in Program History
2/10/2017 5:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. – For the first time in its long and storied history, the Northwestern men's tennis team has started a season with 10 straight wins. The seventh-ranked Wildcats beat North Carolina State, 6-1, on the road Friday afternoon to move past the 1989 team and into the record book.
Chicago's Big Ten Team has dominated its opponents to this point, allowing only 10 points through the first 10 matches of 2017, with five wins by shutout.
"The guys have done a great job competing every match this year," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They prepare the right way and fight for Northwestern and each other on the court. The record is a great accomplishment for the team, but our focus is simply on continuing to improve as a team and finishing the year strong."
Friday was only the second time the Wildcats have played on the road this season, but they made it look easy against a Wolfpack team that came in 5-2 with a one-point loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State the last time out.
Northwestern came into the match having won every doubles point it has played, and that trend continued. The 'Cats won handily at spots two and three, winning both by 6-3 scores. Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Stary won their eighth straight match at No. 2 to improve to 8-1, while Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini moved to 6-3 overall on the year with their point-clinching win at No. 3.
North Carolina State wasted little time tying the match back up at 1 when 67th-ranked Alexis Galarneau was able to beat Sam Shropshire at No. 2, but the Wildcats responded with back-to-back wins to give themselves a comfortable advantage.
The freshman Stary got things rolling with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 over Georgiy Malyshev to improve to 12-2 in his first collegiate season. No. 26 Strong Kirchheimer then won by the exact same score at No. 1 in a battle of ranked players over No. 68 Nick Horton. Kirchheimer has won five matches in a row and is now 15-5 on the year.
Konrad Zieba then stepped up at No. 3 and erased a first set loss to Igor Saveljic with a 7-6 tiebreak win in the second and a 6-0 dismantling in the third. Zieba handed Saveljic his first loss of the season and gave the Wildcats their historic moment.
Jason Seidman and Ben Vandixhorn then finished the match off with a pair of wins at No. 6 and 5, respectively, to make the final score 6-1.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will take its perfect 10-0 record to Charlottesville, Va. next weekend for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, where it will play three matches against some of the top competition in the country. Matchups will be announced next week leading up to the tournament.
#7 Northwestern 6, North Carolina State 1
Singles
No. 1 – #25 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #68 Nick Horton (NCST), 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 – #67 Alexis Galarneau (NCST) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Igor Saveljic (NCST), 3-6, 7-6, 6-0*
No. 4 – Dominik Stary (NU) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Michael Ogden (NCST), 6-4,
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) def. Chris Mikrovas (NCST), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3*, 6, 5
Doubles
No. 1 – #53 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Igor Saveljic / Ivan Saveljic (NCST), 4-5 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Dominik Stary / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Nick Horton / Alexis Galarneau (NCST), 6-3
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Michael Ogden / Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Chicago's Big Ten Team has dominated its opponents to this point, allowing only 10 points through the first 10 matches of 2017, with five wins by shutout.
"The guys have done a great job competing every match this year," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They prepare the right way and fight for Northwestern and each other on the court. The record is a great accomplishment for the team, but our focus is simply on continuing to improve as a team and finishing the year strong."
Friday was only the second time the Wildcats have played on the road this season, but they made it look easy against a Wolfpack team that came in 5-2 with a one-point loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State the last time out.
Northwestern came into the match having won every doubles point it has played, and that trend continued. The 'Cats won handily at spots two and three, winning both by 6-3 scores. Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Stary won their eighth straight match at No. 2 to improve to 8-1, while Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini moved to 6-3 overall on the year with their point-clinching win at No. 3.
North Carolina State wasted little time tying the match back up at 1 when 67th-ranked Alexis Galarneau was able to beat Sam Shropshire at No. 2, but the Wildcats responded with back-to-back wins to give themselves a comfortable advantage.
The freshman Stary got things rolling with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 over Georgiy Malyshev to improve to 12-2 in his first collegiate season. No. 26 Strong Kirchheimer then won by the exact same score at No. 1 in a battle of ranked players over No. 68 Nick Horton. Kirchheimer has won five matches in a row and is now 15-5 on the year.
Konrad Zieba then stepped up at No. 3 and erased a first set loss to Igor Saveljic with a 7-6 tiebreak win in the second and a 6-0 dismantling in the third. Zieba handed Saveljic his first loss of the season and gave the Wildcats their historic moment.
Jason Seidman and Ben Vandixhorn then finished the match off with a pair of wins at No. 6 and 5, respectively, to make the final score 6-1.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will take its perfect 10-0 record to Charlottesville, Va. next weekend for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, where it will play three matches against some of the top competition in the country. Matchups will be announced next week leading up to the tournament.
#7 Northwestern 6, North Carolina State 1
Singles
No. 1 – #25 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #68 Nick Horton (NCST), 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 – #67 Alexis Galarneau (NCST) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Igor Saveljic (NCST), 3-6, 7-6, 6-0*
No. 4 – Dominik Stary (NU) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Michael Ogden (NCST), 6-4,
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) def. Chris Mikrovas (NCST), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3*, 6, 5
Doubles
No. 1 – #53 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Igor Saveljic / Ivan Saveljic (NCST), 4-5 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Dominik Stary / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Nick Horton / Alexis Galarneau (NCST), 6-3
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Michael Ogden / Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
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