Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcats Fall to Illinois in Big Ten Opener
3/7/2020 3:49:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Wildcats dropped their first Big Ten match-up against the fighting Illini 4-3 in on Saturday.
Northwestern was unable to clinch the doubles point leaving Illinois with the lead 1-0. However, the Steven Forman/Natan Spear combination led their match 5-4 before it was left unfinished.
The singles were competitive from the jump, with three 'Cats going into tiebreakers. Simen Bratholm got the 'Cats up on the scoreboard first at #6 singles. Meanwhile, Nick Brookes went into two tiebreakers and won both 7-2, earning a dominant victory against ranked opponent, No. 64 Siphosothando Montsi.
After four hours of play, Forman followed in Brookes' footsteps and battled to nail biting victory against No. 41 Aleks Kovacevic: 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Forman's win tied up the match 3-3 and it came down to #4 singles. Chris Ephron was unable to clinch the win for the Wildcats.
Northwestern will continue its weekend at home with a double header against Notre Dame at 12 p.m. and UIC at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Combe Tennis Center.
No. 47 Illinois 4, No. 23 Northwestern 3
Singles Competition
1. No. 15 Alex Brown (ILL) def. No. 70 Dominik Stary (NU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Steven Forman (NU) def. No. 41 Aleks Kovacevic (ILL), 7-6, 4-6, 6-4
3. Nick Brookes (NU) def. No. 64 Siphosothando Montsi (ILL), 7-6, 7-6
4. Zeke Clark (ILL) def. Chris Ephron (NU), 7-6, 5-7, 6-3
5. Fletcher Scott def. (ILL) Trice Pickens (NU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Simen Bratholm (NU) def. Vuk Budic (ILL), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 1, 3, 2, 4
Doubles Competition
1. No. 25 Alex Brown/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) def. Nick Brookes/Simen Bratholm (NU), 6-3
2. Gui Gomes/Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) def. Chris Ephron/Dominik Stary (NU), 6-3
3. Steven Forman/Natan Spear (NU) vs. Vuk Budic/Zeke Clark (ILL), 5-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
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