The Northwestern men’s tennis team managed not only to steady its ship, but also to build up some steam by notching a win over Ball State on Saturday.
Coming off its first loss of the season last weekend to Notre Dame, NU finished its six-match, season-opening homestand at the Combe Tennis Center with a 5-2 victory.
The No. 46 Wildcats started slowly against No. 75 Ball State, dropping the doubles point that they said they should have won.
The Cats had hoped to feed off their doubles-point win over Notre Dame.
“After last week against Notre Dame, we were looking forward to just coming out and jumping on them,” junior Jackie Jenkins said.
The Cats, however, did anything but jump on the Cardinals. Hindered by unforced errors at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles spots, NU turned over control of the match to Ball State.
“The only thing I was disappointed in today was our performance in doubles – it was subpar,” NU coach Paul Torricelli said.
NU senior Ryan Edlefsen elaborated on Torricelli’s disappointment.
“We played like oompa-loompas out there,” he said of his performance with partner Joost Hol at the No. 2 doubles slot.
NU avoided a sweep in the doubles competition thanks to junior Josh Axler and freshman Tommy Hanus. The pair notched an 8-3 win in their match at the No. 3 doubles position, pushing their record together to 5-0.
The doubles letdown, coupled with the memory of the loss to Notre Dame, left the Cats seeking a momentum shift.
“We knew what we had to do after dropping that doubles point,” Jenkins said. “We just needed to get up and go after them in singles.”
This time, NU followed through on Jenkins’ assessment.
The Cats turned things around immediately as Edlefsen – escaping his role in the chocolate factory – posted a quick point with his win at the No. 1 singles position.
“When you get a quick point at No. 1, it makes a huge difference,” Torricelli said. “Since our depth is our strength, seeing that point go up at the top (of the lineup) really helped the rest of the guys.”
The victory shifted the momentum and also marked the end of Edlefsen’s mini-slump. Having dropped three straight three-set matches, the convincing 6-2, 6-3 win provided a confidence boost for NU’s front man.
“I definitely had a little attitude after those three matches,” Edlefsen said. “I just came out on fire.”
Edlefsen thoroughly dominated Ball State’s Jason Pressel, a first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection.
After Edlefsen’s win, the Cats got another quick point at the No. 6 singles spot from Ahmed Wahla, who matched Edlefsen with another 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Hanus, playing at the No. 2 singles position, extended his dual-match winning streak to six by taking down a grunting Andrew Seni 6-2, 6-1.
Axler, amid some comical dance improvisations on the court – he flapped his arms like a disgruntled bird – emerged with a victory at the No. 5 spot, fighting through inconsistency for a 7-6(3), 6-2 win.
The Cats’ only miscue in singles competition came at the No. 3 slot, where senior Jamie Sahara struggled to a 6-2, 7-6(3) loss.
Sahara’s loss was soon overshadowed, though, as Jenkins’ match took center stage. After winning the first set, the junior pulled out a comeback in a second-set tie-breaker to notch a dramatic 6-4, 7-6(4) win for NU at the No. 4 singles position.
With the win, the Cats built up some positive energy. But if NU hopes to find success next weekend in Seattle, where it will face highly touted Indiana State, Louisville and Washington, the Cats will need to bear down – and they’ll need more than just a bit of momentum.
“Next weekend is perhaps the most important weekend for us all year,” Torricelli said. “It will be a real test.”
