After receiving a first-round bye in the Big Ten championships, the Northwestern men’s tennis team was focused on Friday’s quarterfinal match against Purdue. The Wildcats weren’t planning ahead – they just wanted to get past Friday.
But they couldn’t do it. The fourth-seeded Cats (13-9) lost 4-2 to the No. 5-seed Boilermakers (12-11), ending their run at the conference championships in Columbus, Ohio. It’s only the second time in 13 years that NU didn’t see the semifinals.
“They’re a really good doubles team,” senior Ryan Edlefsen said of Purdue. “We wanted to take that point from them and break their hearts, but they got it and kept up that momentum.”
Not even newly crowned Big Ten Freshman of the Year Tommy Hanus, could prevent the Cats from succumbing to the Boilermakers. He fell easily to No. 107 Scott Mayer, 6-1, 6-4, in the No. 1 singles spot.
The loss aside, Hanus is the only freshman in the conference to have started at both No. 1 singles and doubles. Earlier this month, he earned a spot in the national rankings at No. 118. This and his impressive singles 20-11 record made him the coaches’ choice for the award Thursday.
Hanus was modest about his accomplishment.
“I was really surprised since I had been playing poorly the second half of the season,” Hanus said. “It’s an honor to have such an award.”
Purdue took an early lead, winning the doubles point against NU’s new pairings. Mayer and teammate Dan Swan were too much for NU juniors Jackie Jenkins and Russell Bennett, beating the Cats 8-4 in the top doubles spot. And the duo of Hanus and junior Josh Axler couldn’t top the Boilermakers’ Laith Al-Agba and Carl McCafferty.
“They’re a much better doubles team than we are,” Hanus said. “They work a lot more at it than we do, so there’s not much we could have done on that end.”
The third doubles match was abandoned once Purdue took the point. NU seniors Edlefsen and Joost Hol were in the midst of a tight 7-6 match with Derek Miller and Seth McKinley when they were forced to quit.
Heading into the singles round, the Cats needed to win four of six matches. But they fell short, taking only two. NU’s victories came in the No. 2 spot with senior Jamie Sahara’s 7-6, 6-0 win over McCafferty, and at No. 5, where Axler made quick work of Al-Agba, 6-1, 6-1.
Purdue’s upset of NU is only one of this weekend’s surprises. No. 10 Wisconsin trounced No. 7 Iowa 4-0 in first-round action, and No. 3 Minnesota overcame the host, No. 2 Ohio State, to win 4-3 in the semifinals.
After beating the Cats, Purdue faced No. 1-seed and eventual champion Illinois on Saturday. The Fighting Illini slaughtered the Boilermakers, shutting them out 4-0.
The Cats now turn their attention to selections for May’s NCAA championships, which will be announced today. Last year, NU was disappointed after being left out of the field of 64 and hopes to get a shot this year.
“We had a similar season to last year,” Edlefsen said, “but had some better wins this year, so maybe we can get in.”
Hanus agreed: “Nobody’s happy about this loss, but we’re looking forward to NCAAs and doing some damage there.”
