It’s something the Northwestern men’s tennis team hasn’t won this year, but it’s something it hasn’t needed — at least not until Sunday.
It’s the doubles point.
“We’re a really tough team to beat when we can get the doubles point,” senior captain Russell Bennett said.
NU backed up Bennett’s statement by winning two of three doubles matches — and earning that elusive point — en route to a 4-3 upset over No. 28 Arkansas in Fayetteville.
When Bennett’s partner, sophomore Tommy Hanus, asked Bennett what it was that clicked for the duo, he laughed.
“I would’ve kicked the crap out of you if we lost,” Bennett said.
Although the NU (3-0) is undefeated in dual matches this year, the first two wins came after the loss of the first point. On Sunday, wins by the No. 1 duo of Adam Schaechterle and Josh Axler and the No. 2 pair, Hanus and Bennett, secured the first point for the Wildcats.
“We just came back from break and had a little rust on us, we needed one weekend to get back into it,” Axler said. “Hopefully this is how it will be for the rest of the season.”
According to sophomore Justin Hoeveler, this was just the kind of jolt the Cats needed.
“The doubles point was a huge psychological boost for us because after that, as a team, you can kind of relax,” Hoeveler said. “The two doubles teams that won killed their opponents, and we really showed that we could do it.”
But early in the match, the doubles win looked like it was going to be meaningless.
The Cats lost five of their first six singles sets, but their experienced players battled back. No. 2 Jackie Jenkins and No. 3 Axler secured wins against nationally ranked Aleksey Bubis, No. 57, and Eduardo Pacheco, No. 105. Chuck Perrin at the No. 4 spot, No. 5 Schaechterle and No. 6 Ahmed Wahla fell.
“Our seniors, they didn’t just play this match well, they prepared for it,” Schaechterle said. “We were not willing to lose.”
The score was tied 3-3, and the Cats and Razorbacks gathered around the No. 1 court as Hanus and Nathan Price battled it out.
“It was really tough to lose my singles match, because Tommy was down and we were about to lose,” Schaechterle said.
But Hanus bounced back from losing the first set 4-6 to win the last two 6-2, 6-3, securing a big win for the Cats.
“I really didn’t like the kid I was playing, so that was a little extra kick,” Hanus said.
Another incentive was to beat the alma mater of assistant coach Jay Udwadia.
“It was a great win for us because now we get bragging rights over Jay for the rest of the year,” Perrin said.
This win over a ranked team is a trend the Cats would like to see continue, especially in Saturday’s match against No. 17 Alabama at the Combe Tennis Center. But right now their minds are on one thing.
“We’re riding the mix after this win,” Jenkins said.
