Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, February 20
South Bend, Ind.
6:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
0
at
4
Notre Dame
Photo by: Kailey Zagst/Northwestern Athletics
NU Splits Weekend Against Denver, No. 24 Notre Dame
2/22/2026 7:16:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. — No. 54 Northwestern men's tennis overcame a 3-2 deficit to defeat Denver, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon inside Combe Tennis Center. The Wildcats (10-3) split their results over the weekend, after they fell to No. 24 Notre Dame on Friday night.
In a three and a half hour thriller against the Pioneers (5-3), junior Greyson Casey closed out his match, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), to even the match at three apiece before first-year Cooper Han secured the comeback with a 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 victory.
"Greyson did a great job of winning in straight sets in that [tiebreaker] and is continuing to play at a really high level," Head Coach Arvid Swan said. "To even that was big, and then obviously, Cooper has been outstanding for us. Great job by him as a first-year to win a real match is really impressive."
The victory marked Northwestern's first comeback from down 3-2 since Feb. 19, 2023, against Clemson.
Casey and sophomore Carter Pate registered a 6-3 victory at the No. 1 doubles slot. The duo, which is ranked No. 73 nationally, moved to 9-0 on the season, with all matches coming at the No. 1 position.
"They serve so well," Swan said. "They both [have] big serves, and so they're consistently [holding]."
However, the Wildcats dropped the doubles point and subsequently the No. 5 singles match to fall into a 2-0 hole. Junior Ethan Schiffman put Northwestern on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 victory to move to 7-2 in singles in the dual season.
At No. 1 singles, Pate evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph. After taking a 4-2 deficit in the first set, the Charleston, S.C., native won seven consecutive games. He now holds an 8-3 record in singles this season, the most wins on the team.
"It was a slow start for him, but he just increased his level over the course of the match," Swan said. "I knew he could get back into the match. It was just a little bit of a slow start. He's been playing at a really high level for us all year."
After the Wildcats suffered a defeat at No. 2 singles to fall behind 3-2, Casey's 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win evened the match. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker to help guarantee his victory.
Han originally trailed 3-1 in the third set but rallied back by winning three consecutive games. With the set netted at 4-4, Han broke his opponent's serve, then successfully served out the match for a 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 result. It marked the first three-set victory of his career.
"I was just really proud that I stayed in that last rally and ended up pulling it out," Han said. "This is my first experience where it's three-all, and I'm playing for a clinch, with everyone on the sidelines just cheering me on super loud after every point."
To Swan, Han's ability to stay composed during the back-and-forth match exemplified his character as a fighter.
"That's just who he is," Swan said. "He's not going to get too high or too low. He's a really mature kid, and obviously, [it's] his first year, but he has so many good experiences playing clutch matches. When he was in the juniors, he was a really high-ranked junior, and so he has a lot of success playing close matches. It wasn't a surprise to me that he came up for as at the end."
In Friday night's match in South Bend. Ind., Northwestern fell to the No. 24 Fighting Irish (9-2, 1-0 ACC), 4-0. At the No. 1 doubles slot, Casey and Pate won three straight games to tab a 6-3 victory, but the Wildcats could not secure the doubles point. The team then dropped three singles matches to end its nine-match winning streak, which was the program's longest winning streak since 2017.
Swan said that he is proud of his team's ability to bounce back against Denver. Northwestern's 10-3 record is its best start to a dual season through 13 games since 2022.
"These guys are resilient. We talked about responding after a tough loss, and that's what we did today," Swan said.
Northwestern plays its final nonconference match before Big Ten play begins when it hosts UIC on Saturday, Feb. 28. First serve is set for noon CT at the Combe Tennis Center.
In a three and a half hour thriller against the Pioneers (5-3), junior Greyson Casey closed out his match, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), to even the match at three apiece before first-year Cooper Han secured the comeback with a 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 victory.
Earned it. ??
— Northwestern Men's Tennis (@NUMensTennis) February 22, 2026
NU 4 | UD 3 pic.twitter.com/3SbZoYq8of
"Greyson did a great job of winning in straight sets in that [tiebreaker] and is continuing to play at a really high level," Head Coach Arvid Swan said. "To even that was big, and then obviously, Cooper has been outstanding for us. Great job by him as a first-year to win a real match is really impressive."
The victory marked Northwestern's first comeback from down 3-2 since Feb. 19, 2023, against Clemson.
Casey and sophomore Carter Pate registered a 6-3 victory at the No. 1 doubles slot. The duo, which is ranked No. 73 nationally, moved to 9-0 on the season, with all matches coming at the No. 1 position.
"They serve so well," Swan said. "They both [have] big serves, and so they're consistently [holding]."
However, the Wildcats dropped the doubles point and subsequently the No. 5 singles match to fall into a 2-0 hole. Junior Ethan Schiffman put Northwestern on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 victory to move to 7-2 in singles in the dual season.
At No. 1 singles, Pate evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph. After taking a 4-2 deficit in the first set, the Charleston, S.C., native won seven consecutive games. He now holds an 8-3 record in singles this season, the most wins on the team.
PATE????
— Northwestern Men's Tennis (@NUMensTennis) February 22, 2026
The sophomore posts a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 1 singles to tie up the match.
NU 2 | UD 2 pic.twitter.com/YQGyxAkeqj
"It was a slow start for him, but he just increased his level over the course of the match," Swan said. "I knew he could get back into the match. It was just a little bit of a slow start. He's been playing at a really high level for us all year."
After the Wildcats suffered a defeat at No. 2 singles to fall behind 3-2, Casey's 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win evened the match. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker to help guarantee his victory.
Han originally trailed 3-1 in the third set but rallied back by winning three consecutive games. With the set netted at 4-4, Han broke his opponent's serve, then successfully served out the match for a 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 result. It marked the first three-set victory of his career.
"I was just really proud that I stayed in that last rally and ended up pulling it out," Han said. "This is my first experience where it's three-all, and I'm playing for a clinch, with everyone on the sidelines just cheering me on super loud after every point."
For ?????????????? ?????? pic.twitter.com/7Tt1rh2Ecs
— Northwestern Men's Tennis (@NUMensTennis) February 22, 2026
To Swan, Han's ability to stay composed during the back-and-forth match exemplified his character as a fighter.
"That's just who he is," Swan said. "He's not going to get too high or too low. He's a really mature kid, and obviously, [it's] his first year, but he has so many good experiences playing clutch matches. When he was in the juniors, he was a really high-ranked junior, and so he has a lot of success playing close matches. It wasn't a surprise to me that he came up for as at the end."
In Friday night's match in South Bend. Ind., Northwestern fell to the No. 24 Fighting Irish (9-2, 1-0 ACC), 4-0. At the No. 1 doubles slot, Casey and Pate won three straight games to tab a 6-3 victory, but the Wildcats could not secure the doubles point. The team then dropped three singles matches to end its nine-match winning streak, which was the program's longest winning streak since 2017.
Swan said that he is proud of his team's ability to bounce back against Denver. Northwestern's 10-3 record is its best start to a dual season through 13 games since 2022.
"These guys are resilient. We talked about responding after a tough loss, and that's what we did today," Swan said.
Northwestern plays its final nonconference match before Big Ten play begins when it hosts UIC on Saturday, Feb. 28. First serve is set for noon CT at the Combe Tennis Center.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
64
Sebastian Dominko / 0 (14/-) [ND]
76
#2 Singles Match
123
350
Perry Gregg / 0 (72/-) [ND]
64UF
#3 Singles Match
123
640
Peter Nad / 0 [ND]
75UF
#4 Singles Match
123
621
Giuseppe Cerasuolo / 0 [ND]
166
#5 Singles Match
12
61
Luis Llorens Saracho / 0 [ND]
76
#6 Singles Match
123
450
Evan Lee / 0 [ND]
65UF
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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