Thursday, April 27
West Lafayette, Ind.
10:30 a.m.
Northwestern
4
vs
0
Michigan State
Northwestern Cruises Through First Round, 4-0, Over Michigan State
4/27/2017 1:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Northwestern grabbed a convincing win in the first round of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, beating Michigan State, 4-0, to advance to Friday's quarterfinal round.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (21-9) stormed past the Spartans (11-18) at the Schwartz Tennis Center on the campus of Purdue to set up a rematch with No. 4 seed Wisconsin. The Badgers won the regular season contest in Madison, 4-2. Friday's match is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT with the winner taking on either top-seed Ohio State or No. 8 seed Minnesota in the semifinals.
"We are really excited to play Wisconsin again," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They are a great opponent, and they have had a great year. For us, it is a great opportunity to test ourselves against another quality team in the Big Ten."
The Wildcats came out ready to go on Thursday, notching a pair of quick victories in doubles play. No. 59 Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý got things started at No. 2, 6-2, over Colin Harvey and Michael Dube. The freshman/sophomore tandem of Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini finished off doubles with a 6-3 win at No. 3 over Billy Shisler and Doug Francken.
The youngest members of the 'Cats single lineup made it happen against the Spartans, pulling out straight set wins at spots 4-6 to complete the team sweep.
Sophomore Jason Seidman rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Alexander Kim. The win was Seidman's 24th of the season. He was followed in short order by classmate Ben Vandixhorn, who dispatched Shisler, 6-3, 6-3 to put the Wildcats up 3-0.
Needing just one more win for the team victory, the freshman Starý delivered at No. 4. He picked up win No. 23 on the year, 6-3, 7-5, over Ivan Rakic to clinch it for NU.
"Conditions were tough today," Swan said. "It was a battle, really close. Doubles point, we were fortunate to get through it, and I was pleased with the effort in singles. It was a really competitive match, and we had three guys really step up to allow us to win the match."
Kirchheimer and Zieba both led their respective matches when they went unfinished, and Shropshire was tied in the third set. Kirchheimer was just one game away from a win at No. 1.
Northwestern and Wisconsin will get underway at about 10:30 a.m. CT Friday morning, immediately following the conclusion of Ohio State and Minnesota.
#23 Northwestern 4, Michigan State 0
Singles
No. 1 – #37 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Brett Forman (MSU), 7-6, 5-2 (unfinished)
No. 2 – #71 Konrad Zieba (NU) vs. Jasper Koenen (MSU), 7-6, 4-0 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Michael Dube (MSU), 5-7, 6-1, 1-1 (unfinished)
No. 4 – Dominik Starý (NU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU), 6-3, 7-5*
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Billy Shisler (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) def. Alexander Kim (MSU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4*
Doubles
No. 1 – Brett Forman / Jasper Koenen (MSU) vs. #58 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU), 5-4 (unfinished)
No. 2 – #59 Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU) def. Colin Harvey / Michael Dube (MSU), 6-2
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Billy Shisler / Doug Francken (MSU), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (21-9) stormed past the Spartans (11-18) at the Schwartz Tennis Center on the campus of Purdue to set up a rematch with No. 4 seed Wisconsin. The Badgers won the regular season contest in Madison, 4-2. Friday's match is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT with the winner taking on either top-seed Ohio State or No. 8 seed Minnesota in the semifinals.
"We are really excited to play Wisconsin again," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They are a great opponent, and they have had a great year. For us, it is a great opportunity to test ourselves against another quality team in the Big Ten."
The Wildcats came out ready to go on Thursday, notching a pair of quick victories in doubles play. No. 59 Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý got things started at No. 2, 6-2, over Colin Harvey and Michael Dube. The freshman/sophomore tandem of Chris Ephron and Michael Lorenzini finished off doubles with a 6-3 win at No. 3 over Billy Shisler and Doug Francken.
The youngest members of the 'Cats single lineup made it happen against the Spartans, pulling out straight set wins at spots 4-6 to complete the team sweep.
Sophomore Jason Seidman rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Alexander Kim. The win was Seidman's 24th of the season. He was followed in short order by classmate Ben Vandixhorn, who dispatched Shisler, 6-3, 6-3 to put the Wildcats up 3-0.
Needing just one more win for the team victory, the freshman Starý delivered at No. 4. He picked up win No. 23 on the year, 6-3, 7-5, over Ivan Rakic to clinch it for NU.
"Conditions were tough today," Swan said. "It was a battle, really close. Doubles point, we were fortunate to get through it, and I was pleased with the effort in singles. It was a really competitive match, and we had three guys really step up to allow us to win the match."
Kirchheimer and Zieba both led their respective matches when they went unfinished, and Shropshire was tied in the third set. Kirchheimer was just one game away from a win at No. 1.
Northwestern and Wisconsin will get underway at about 10:30 a.m. CT Friday morning, immediately following the conclusion of Ohio State and Minnesota.
#23 Northwestern 4, Michigan State 0
Singles
No. 1 – #37 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Brett Forman (MSU), 7-6, 5-2 (unfinished)
No. 2 – #71 Konrad Zieba (NU) vs. Jasper Koenen (MSU), 7-6, 4-0 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. Michael Dube (MSU), 5-7, 6-1, 1-1 (unfinished)
No. 4 – Dominik Starý (NU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU), 6-3, 7-5*
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Billy Shisler (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Jason Seidman (NU) def. Alexander Kim (MSU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4*
Doubles
No. 1 – Brett Forman / Jasper Koenen (MSU) vs. #58 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU), 5-4 (unfinished)
No. 2 – #59 Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU) def. Colin Harvey / Michael Dube (MSU), 6-2
No. 3 – Chris Ephron / Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Billy Shisler / Doug Francken (MSU), 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
••••••
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