Preparing for the NCAA tournament was the last thing NU men’s tennis coach Paul Torricelli thought he would have to worry about after the 1999-2000 season. When the 64 selections were announced, Torricelli wasn’t even on campus. Not planning on celebrating that night, he had made other plans.
“I was picking my dad up from the airport when (assistant coach Jay Udwadia) called my cell phone and told me we were in,” Torricelli said.
The invitation alone was a surprise to the veteran coach, but his jaw dropped even further when he learned who then-No. 56 NU was up against – none other than No. 1 Stanford.
A few days later, Torricelli was back at the airport, but this time it was the NU team hopping a flight. Five members of that squad are still Wildcats in 2002. Then-freshmen Josh Axler, Russell Bennett and Jackie Jenkins were about to get a whopper of a first NCAA experience. (Sophomores Joost Hol and Jamie Sahara had already been to the tournament the previous year.)
“That was the most exciting part of the year,” Bennett said. “You can’t beat Stanford for a location.”
NU couldn’t beat Stanford during the match, either. The trip to California was a short one, as the Cardinal blew away the Cats, 4-0. Stanford won all three doubles matches, four singles matches and was on its way to winning two more before clinching the shutout.
“To beat Stanford … that would have been a stretch,” Torricelli admitted recently, but at the time he said he was glad his young team got NCAA experience under its belt.
This year, however, the Cats are ready for the opportunity to make a dent in the brackets.
The 2002 NU team is more experienced and more mature than the 2000 version, as demonstrated by its improved record and ranking.
“Our whole attitude has changed this year,” Bennett said. “Freshman year, we were surprised to have made it, but this year we expected it. We’re just more prepared now.”
No. 45 NU (13-9) faces No. 38 Indiana State (24-9) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the first round of NCAA regional action. Neither team will have the home-court advantage, as the match will be held at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign.
In the other match in the bracket, unranked Butler (18-10) battles it out with Big Ten champion and host No. 3 Illinois (23-4). The winner of that match will face either NU or Indiana State on Sunday at noon.
Having lost to Indiana State 4-3 in the regular season at the Great Northwest Shootout in Seattle, NU is ready for the rematch.
“Nothing was won easily,” Torricelli said about the teams’ last meeting. NU came out strongly, taking the doubles point 2-1. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Tommy Hanus beat No. 78 Vedran Vidovic, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. During the other singles matches, NU came close, but the Sycamores ended up on top.
This weekend’s match could go to either of the closely ranked teams, Torricelli said. The earlier loss to Indiana State should serve as motivation for NU. And statistics are on the Cats’ side. NU is 6-2 on Saturdays and 5-2 on
Sundays.
Therefore, Bennett warns, Indiana State has its work cut out for it.
“It’s going to be tough (for the Sycamores) to beat the same team twice,” he said.
