No one saw it coming.
A 4-3 loss to unranked Iowa was the last thing the No. 37 Northwestern men’s tennis team thought it would have to think about on its trip home from Iowa City, Iowa. But that’s exactly what happened Saturday, leaving the Wildcats wondering how they let this one slip away.
“We were really lackadaisical in doubles,” senior Ryan Edlefsen said. “Basically, we just weren’t really ready for the match.”
Not being ready was costly for the Cats as their record dropped to 11-6 (4-2 Big Ten). The loss topped off a disappointing 0-2 weekend for NU, which was shut out by No. 3 Illinois on Thursday in Champaign. Iowa raised its record to 11-6 (3-3).
Iowa grabbed two of three doubles matches to win the doubles point and take the edge heading into singles play. In the No. 1 doubles spot, NU’s top team of freshman Tommy Hanus and junior Russell Bennett fell 8-4 to another freshman-junior duo, Iowa’s Justin Gaard and Stuart Walters. At No. 2, NU freshman Chuck Perrin and partner Jackie Jenkins, a junior, lost to senior Jake Wilson and junior Hunter Skogman, 8-5. Edlefsen and junior Josh Axler stopped Iowa from posting a doubles shutout, topping senior Petar Mandic and junior Pete Rose, but Iowa still took the 1-0 lead.
“If we had won the doubles point, that would have helped take the confidence out of Iowa,” NU senior captain Joost Hol said. “But the fact that they (took the doubles point) – that’s what gave them the momentum to win.”
As for singles, NU’s three seniors were the only Cats to win their matches. Jamie Sahara came back from a tough third-set tiebreak loss at Illinois to win his match in the No. 2 singles slot against Wilson, 7-5, 6-2. At No. 3, Edlefsen snapped a nine-match losing streak, regrouping from a one-set deficit to take the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 over the Yugoslavian import Mandic. Hol completed the senior sweep by beating Rose 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Unfortunately for NU, its other three singles players couldn’t follow suit. Iowa’s 95th-ranked Waters showed why he was last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week, romping No. 118 Hanus 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, Skogman defeated Jenkins at No. 4 (6-4, 6-2), and Axler couldn’t keep up with Gaard at No. 5, losing in three sets.
Playing on the unfamiliar outdoor courts shouldn’t have factored in NU’s loss – the Cats elected to play in the 50-degree weather because the Klotz Tennis Center is newer and in better condition than Iowa’s indoor courts.
“No team plays their best when out in the cold and wind,” Edlefsen said. “But because it was our decision to play outside, it should have made our mental attitudes better.”
The 7-0 shutout loss at Illinois also did not discourage the Cats from playing at their highest level.
“The loss to Illinois should have given us more of an incentive to come out and play better, but we blew it,” Edlefsen said.
The Cats need to pick up their games quickly. Another weekend road trip kicks off Friday as NU travels to No. 20 Minnesota. It will also make a stop in Madison, Wis., on Sunday to face No. 68 Wisconsin. Hol said the gameplan is to have a hard week of practice and put Iowa out of mind to focus on these two upcoming matches.
“We need to put our losses behind us,” Edlefsen said. “We have a lot of tennis to play.”
