What a difference a year makes.

For Northwestern men’s tennis player Tommy Hanus, it means the difference between being an inexperienced freshman and showing the new kid what college tennis is all about.

After snatching the No. 1 singles spot during his first year in Evanston, Hanus is now holding the hand of the Wildcats’ newest fresh face, Adam Schaechterle.

“Adam’s like a little brother to me,” said Hanus, last year’s Big Ten freshman of the year.

Hanus started last season at the No. 3 spot before emerging as NU’s best singles player midway through the season. He and seniors Josh Axler, Jackie Jenkins and Russell Bennett, this year’s captain, hope to lead the team to two victories this weekend in their first matches of the season.

This weekend the Cats will face Denver, coached by former NU player and 1994 grad Geoff Young, and Northern Illinois, a team hungry for respect it has lacked in previous seasons. The Cats will play Denver at 10 a.m. Saturday and Northern Illinois at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center.

“I’m expecting a battle on Sunday, ” Hanus said. “And I’m making extra sure everyone on the team knows it too,” Hanus said.

The Cats will be facing a team Saturday that even the current seniors have never seen before.

“The University of Denver is a team we don’t know, but that’s not going to change how we approach them at all,” NU coach Paul Torricelli said. “We just want to get that win. We’re just going to put our starting line out there and see what happens.”

Despite knowing little about Denver, NU players are still confident.

“It doesn’t daunt me,” Axler said. “It doesn’t daunt us as a team, but at the same time, we’re not overlooking them at all.”

On Sunday, the opponent changes from an unknown to one known all to well. Axler and his doubles partner, Schaechterle, lost to Northern Illinois’ No. 1 pair of Juan Pablo Barriga and Erick Martinez in October in the Regional doubles final.

This doubles match-up could prove to be key Sunday, as the first point could set a spark for the rest of the day, according to Bennett. Although Axler remembers the “tough loss” at regionals, both he and Schaechterle deny that it will have any bearing on their performance Sunday.

“We lost to their No. 1 team last time, but there’s no bad blood,” Schaechterle said. “I’m just really excited for my first dual.”

He’s not the only one.

“All of us are really fresh and excited,” Bennett said. “We’re all pretty hungry for the win.”

It will take more than hunger for the Cats to win on Sunday, as Northern Illinois comes to Evanston with a much better team than the one NU beat 7-0 last year. In addition to Northern Illinois’ improvement, the Cats will have to overcome the loss of three seniors from last year’s team.

“I’m very worried,” Torricelli said. “They’re trying to gain more respect in the region, which they deserve.”

Denver, N. Illinois at NU

10 a.m., Saturday; 3 p.m., Sunday

Combe Tennis Center