Sunday, February 5
Evanston, Ill.
1:30 p.m.
Northwestern
4
vs
2
Duke
Wildcats Tie Program Record With 9-0 Start
2/5/2017 7:26:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern tied a 28-year program record on Sunday with its ninth straight win to open the year. The Wildcats beat Duke, 4-2, at the Combe Tennis Center.
The 1989 team is the only other team in program history to start a year 9-0. The 2017 version can break the record with its 10th consecutive win on Friday at North Carolina State.
"We feel good about it," head coach Arvid Swan said. "It means the guys have been playing well. The important thing for us is that we have been improving as a team from the first match to where we are now. We have a lot of improvement to go, but the guys have competed hard every match. We are proud of what we have done so far, but the focus is on finishing strong."
The No. 9 Wildcats used a typically strong doubles effort to gain an important edge in taking down the visiting Blue Devils, who are receiving votes in the latest Oracle ITA national rankings.
The youngest doubles team of Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini breezed through their match at No. 3 to give the 'Cats an early advantage. Shortly after, the veteran duo of Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire moved to 7-0 overall with a 6-3 win at No. 1 that gave Northwestern the first point of the match.
Strong Kirchheimer continued his strong start to the year, winning his 14th match overall and fourth in a row with a straight set decision over Vincent Lin at No. 1 to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Duke then picked up a pair of wins at Nos. 5 and 4 to tie things up. Those were the first matches Northwestern has given up since a 4-2 win over Louisville on Jan. 22.
That would be all the Blue Devils would get as Konrad Zieba closed out Robert Levine at No. 3 in a second set tiebreak for his seventh straight win. Sam Shropshire then finished things off with another straight set win at No. 2 over Catalin Mateas.
The undefeated Wildcats head to Raleigh, N.C. next weekend to take on North Carolina State on Friday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m.
#9 Northwestern 4, Duke 2
Singles
No. 1 – #26 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Vincent Lin (DUKE), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 – Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Catalin Mateas (DUKE), 7-6 (6), 6-4*
No. 3 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Robert Levine (DUKE), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 – Nick Stachowiak (DUKE) def. Dominik Starý (NU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Spencer Furman (DUKE) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) vs. T.J. Pura (DUKE),7-6 (3), 4-5 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 3, 2*
Doubles
No. 1 – Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Catalin Mateas / Vincent Lin (DUKE), 6-3*
No. 2 – Dominik Starý / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Nick Stachowiak / Spencer Furman (DUKE), 4-4 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Robert Levine / Ryan Dickerson (DUKE), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
The 1989 team is the only other team in program history to start a year 9-0. The 2017 version can break the record with its 10th consecutive win on Friday at North Carolina State.
"We feel good about it," head coach Arvid Swan said. "It means the guys have been playing well. The important thing for us is that we have been improving as a team from the first match to where we are now. We have a lot of improvement to go, but the guys have competed hard every match. We are proud of what we have done so far, but the focus is on finishing strong."
The No. 9 Wildcats used a typically strong doubles effort to gain an important edge in taking down the visiting Blue Devils, who are receiving votes in the latest Oracle ITA national rankings.
The youngest doubles team of Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini breezed through their match at No. 3 to give the 'Cats an early advantage. Shortly after, the veteran duo of Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire moved to 7-0 overall with a 6-3 win at No. 1 that gave Northwestern the first point of the match.
Strong Kirchheimer continued his strong start to the year, winning his 14th match overall and fourth in a row with a straight set decision over Vincent Lin at No. 1 to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Duke then picked up a pair of wins at Nos. 5 and 4 to tie things up. Those were the first matches Northwestern has given up since a 4-2 win over Louisville on Jan. 22.
That would be all the Blue Devils would get as Konrad Zieba closed out Robert Levine at No. 3 in a second set tiebreak for his seventh straight win. Sam Shropshire then finished things off with another straight set win at No. 2 over Catalin Mateas.
The undefeated Wildcats head to Raleigh, N.C. next weekend to take on North Carolina State on Friday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m.
#9 Northwestern 4, Duke 2
Singles
No. 1 – #26 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Vincent Lin (DUKE), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 – Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Catalin Mateas (DUKE), 7-6 (6), 6-4*
No. 3 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Robert Levine (DUKE), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 – Nick Stachowiak (DUKE) def. Dominik Starý (NU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Spencer Furman (DUKE) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) vs. T.J. Pura (DUKE),7-6 (3), 4-5 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 3, 2*
Doubles
No. 1 – Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Catalin Mateas / Vincent Lin (DUKE), 6-3*
No. 2 – Dominik Starý / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Nick Stachowiak / Spencer Furman (DUKE), 4-4 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Robert Levine / Ryan Dickerson (DUKE), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
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