The Northwestern men’s tennis players learned a little bit about who they are this weekend. The No. 46 Wildcats faced their two toughest opponents of the young season in No. 49 Purdue and No. 10 Notre Dame, finishing the weekend with a split.
The Boilermakers came into the freshly dedicated Combe Tennis Center on Saturday and helped NU open its Big Ten season with a 5-2 win, before the Cats fell Sunday to Notre Dame.
Purdue, led by its No. 23 doubles tandem of Scott Mayer and Dan Swann, put the Cats in an early hole, taking the doubles point in convincing fashion.
But the deficit proved to be an insignificant setback for the Cats, as NU quickly regained control of the match.
“In singles we felt like we had a great chance,” NU coach Paul Torricelli said. “We came out and got the job done.”
NU’s No. 5 singles player Josh Axler extended his singles winning streak to 13 matches with a quick 6-3, 6-4 victory, shifting the momentum back in the Cats’ favor.
Senior Ryan Edlefsen, NU’s No. 1 singles player, dropped the Cats’ lone singles match to Purdue’s Scott Mayer 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Senior Jamie Sahara and freshman Tommy Hanus added two-set victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 singles slots.
Junior Jackie Jenkins and freshman Chuck Perrin tacked on points with wins in their three-set matches, pushing NU over the top for the 5-2 victory.
“It’s always nice to win Big Ten matches,” Sahara said. “We always advocate winning in the Big Ten. That’s the school we are, and that’s the team we are.”
Sunday the Cats again looked up at a scoreboard reading 5-2 – but this time with dampened spirits.
The Fighting Irish were too much for NU in the loss, although the contest had its high points for the Cats.
“I’m not happy at all that we lost,” Torricelli said. “But as a coach I have to look at the big picture, and I saw some strides this weekend.”
Moving up to the No. 2 singles position from No. 3 on Saturday, the freshman Hanus took the Cats’ only singles match against Notre Dame. Hanus also contributed to NU’s only other point, which came in the doubles competition.
“Tommy has been winning and thriving on the dual-match competition,” said Torricelli.
The animated Hanus became more vocal as his match reached a tie-breaker in the first set. He drew every pair of eyes, from the stands and even from his own teammates battling hard on adjacent courts.
“I was trying to help the other guys out by maybe providing a little inspiration,” Hanus said. “Unfortunately they all fought their hardest but just didn’t execute in the end.”
Pumping his fist, Hanus took the heated tie-breaker and proceeded to dismantle Notre Dame’s No. 2 singles player Aaron Talarico in the second set for a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory.
“I knew if I could break him (to start the second set), I’d just roll him over in the match, and that’s what I did,” Hanus said. “I stayed loose and hit it harder and harder, and I took him down that way.”
The rest of the Cats played tight matches in defeat, with each but Sahara’s including a third set or a tie-breaker.
The loss was NU’s first of the season, dropping the team’s record to 4-1.
Despite the Cats’ frustration, Torricelli said his team wouldn’t dwell on the loss.
“The big thing about losing is you can’t accept it,” the coach said.
The Cats instead chose to focus on the positive points they could take away from the weekend, especially their victory over Purdue.
“That’s a huge win,” Hanus said. “Purdue’s a very strong team. It’s definitely good to see where we are in the Big Ten, and that’s at the top.”
