Friday, April 21
Evanston, Ill.
6 p.m.
Northwestern
1
vs
6
Ohio State
No. 21 Wildcats Drop Match to No. 2 Ohio State
4/21/2017 9:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern put up a good fight Friday night at the Combe Tennis Center against No. 2 Ohio State, but the Big Ten champion Buckeyes were too much for the 21st-ranked Wildcats, winning 6-1 in front of the largest Northwestern crowd of the season.
The 'Cats will enter the final day of the regular season on Sunday at 18-9 (6-4).
At 24-3 (9-0), Ohio State entered the match with two highly ranked doubles teams, but it was their one unranked duo that got on the board first with a 6-3 win at No. 3 over the Wildcats' Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini. The Buckeyes finished things off with a 6-4 win by their No. 13 ranked team at the No. 1 spot.
Northwestern's No. 70-ranked duo of Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý led Ohio State's 27th-ranked Martin Joyce and Hugo Di Feo, 4-3, when their match went unfinished.
Singles play started out very close between the two squads, with just one match have its first frame decided by more than two games. Ohio State ultimately took four of the first sets and used that momentum to carry it to the win.
The Buckeyes got straight set victories at No. 2, No. 1 and No. 6 to clinch the team win. No. 39 Strong Kirchheimer gave the No. 1 player in the country, Mikael Torpegaard, all he could handle in the first set, but Torpegaard ultimately prevailed 6-4, 6-0. Ohio State then got another team point with a win at No. 5.
True freshman Dominik Starý got the Wildcats on the board with a three-set superbreaker win over redshirt-freshman Kyle Seelig in a rematch of Stary's win in the finals of the Big Ten Singles Championship from the fall. Stary got the best of Seelig again, winning, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9) in a drama-filled third frame.
The match ended with a thriller at No. 3, where No. 8 ranked Hugo Di Feo outlasted Sam Shropshire with tiebreakers in the first two sets and a superbreaker in the third. Di Feo won 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-7).
Northwestern wraps up the regular season with Senior Day on Sunday when the Wildcats take on Penn State at 10:30 a.m. The match is scheduled to be played outdoors at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, weather permitting. The 'Cats then host Chicago State in a nightcap at 6 p.m. inside the Combe Tennis Center.
#2 Ohio State 6, #21 Northwestern 1
Singles
No. 1 – #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #39 Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 – #75 JJ Wolf (OSU) def. #65 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – #8 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-7)
No. 4 – Dominik Starý (NU) def. Kyle Seelig (OSU), 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)
No. 5 – Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 – #120 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Jason Seidman (NU), 6-1, 6-4*
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 6*, 5, 4, 3
Doubles
No. 1 – #13 Mikael Torpegaard / Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #68 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-4*
No. 2 – #70 Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU) vs. #27 Martin Joyce / Hugo Di Feo (OSU), 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 – JJ Wolf / Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
The 'Cats will enter the final day of the regular season on Sunday at 18-9 (6-4).
At 24-3 (9-0), Ohio State entered the match with two highly ranked doubles teams, but it was their one unranked duo that got on the board first with a 6-3 win at No. 3 over the Wildcats' Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini. The Buckeyes finished things off with a 6-4 win by their No. 13 ranked team at the No. 1 spot.
Northwestern's No. 70-ranked duo of Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý led Ohio State's 27th-ranked Martin Joyce and Hugo Di Feo, 4-3, when their match went unfinished.
Singles play started out very close between the two squads, with just one match have its first frame decided by more than two games. Ohio State ultimately took four of the first sets and used that momentum to carry it to the win.
The Buckeyes got straight set victories at No. 2, No. 1 and No. 6 to clinch the team win. No. 39 Strong Kirchheimer gave the No. 1 player in the country, Mikael Torpegaard, all he could handle in the first set, but Torpegaard ultimately prevailed 6-4, 6-0. Ohio State then got another team point with a win at No. 5.
True freshman Dominik Starý got the Wildcats on the board with a three-set superbreaker win over redshirt-freshman Kyle Seelig in a rematch of Stary's win in the finals of the Big Ten Singles Championship from the fall. Stary got the best of Seelig again, winning, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9) in a drama-filled third frame.
The match ended with a thriller at No. 3, where No. 8 ranked Hugo Di Feo outlasted Sam Shropshire with tiebreakers in the first two sets and a superbreaker in the third. Di Feo won 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-7).
Northwestern wraps up the regular season with Senior Day on Sunday when the Wildcats take on Penn State at 10:30 a.m. The match is scheduled to be played outdoors at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, weather permitting. The 'Cats then host Chicago State in a nightcap at 6 p.m. inside the Combe Tennis Center.
#2 Ohio State 6, #21 Northwestern 1
Singles
No. 1 – #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #39 Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 – #75 JJ Wolf (OSU) def. #65 Konrad Zieba (NU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – #8 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-7)
No. 4 – Dominik Starý (NU) def. Kyle Seelig (OSU), 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)
No. 5 – Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 – #120 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Jason Seidman (NU), 6-1, 6-4*
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 6*, 5, 4, 3
Doubles
No. 1 – #13 Mikael Torpegaard / Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #68 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU), 6-4*
No. 2 – #70 Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU) vs. #27 Martin Joyce / Hugo Di Feo (OSU), 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 – JJ Wolf / Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
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