Upsets have been a foreign concept to the Northwestern men’s tennis team so far this year. The No. 50 Wildcats are unbeaten against lower-ranked teams. But they have also failed to surprise a higher-ranked opponent.
NU (6-3, 1-0) looks for the former to hold true as it travels to East Lansing on Saturday to meet No. 62 Michigan State (7-2).
But the Cats hope their past is not a perfect predictor of the future – NU will travel across the state Sunday to face No. 46 Michigan (6-1).
The Cats, hoping to gain an upset, have had trouble as the underdog.
“We’re definitely looking for the upset,” junior Jackie Jenkins said. “Coach is always talking about that big win for us, and this would be a great start.”
The Cats can’t afford to add to a three-match losing streak against higher-ranked teams – something NU is confident will not happen this weekend.
“We’re going to come back with two wins,” NU’s coach Paul Torricelli said.
The players have adopted their coach’s confidence.
“I don’t know who makes the rankings or what, but we’re going to win this weekend,” junior Josh Axler said.
NU enjoys two advantages heading into the weekend. Both the Spartans and Wolverines are coming off losses, and both will also face No. 2 Illinois this weekend.
“I love being Illinois’ travel partner,” Torricelli said. “The team you play the second day has probably gotten beat up the day before, and the team you play the first day knows that Illinois is going to be there the next day.”
The Cats’ level of play has improved thanks to the stiff competition they faced last weekend at the Great Northwest Shootout.
“When you play good teams you’re going to get better,” Axler said. “I definitely think it’s going to help going into this weekend.”
While NU is looking to find its place in the Big Ten, several individual players are hoping to discover something about themselves.
Freshman Tommy Hanus will have a chance to build on his success last weekend, when he recorded a split in two matches against ranked players. If both the Cats and the Wolverines field their regular lineups, Hanus will meet his third ranked opponent in No. 99 Ben Cox.
The NU freshman is 8-1 in dual-match play and has played competitively against ranked opponents, including a defeat of Indiana State’s No. 56 Vedran Vidovic.
“Clearly Tommy’s good enough to be ranked in the nation, and I’m excited about the possibility,” Torricelli said. “I hope he gets there soon.”
Senior Joost Hol is less concerned with where he he fits into the national rankings than he is with returning to his previous level.
Hol, who had been out of action following shoulder surgery, was given permission to play his first singles match of the year last weekend against Washington.
While Hol struggled in his first match back, Torricelli saw only positives.
“It was good to give it a shot last weekend,” Torricelli said. “He’s clearly not 100 percent, but I’m glad we did it.”
Hol may not compete this weekend, said Torricelli, pointing to the need to field a healthy lineup for Big Ten competition.
Jenkins is also trying to rebound from his individual loss against Indiana State.
“I had the chance to clinch the match for us, and I kind of feel like I let the team down.” Jenkins said of last weekend’s match against the Sycamores. “So I’m fired up now. I just want the chance to get out there and get a couple of ‘W’s.”
The Cats have been spewing confidence lately against their nonconference opponents. And they say they’re even more comfortable playing in the Big Ten.
“Now it’s like we’re in our home territory (Big Ten play),” Axler said. “We really want to beat these guys. It’s going to be a good win.”
