It was a Homecoming of sorts this weekend for Northwestern men’s tennis. Alumni, friends and family filled the stands at the Combe Tennis Center to honor former coach Paul Torricelli.
The fans were treated to a dominating performance as the Wildcats rolled over Bradley (0-1) 7-0.
NU improved to 5-2 – their best start since the 2004-2005 season – with their win against the Braves.
“Everyone did a really good job,” junior Marc Dwyer said. “We came out with a lot of energy and got the doubles point pretty convincingly and then just carried that over to singles.”
The Cats quickly clinched the doubles point with two lopsided victories. Dwyer and sophomore captain Alex Sanborn won their match 8-2 at No. 1, and senior Juan Gomez and freshman David Seyferth clinched the point with another 8-2 victory at No. 3.
NU performed just as well in singles play. The Cats won all of their matches in straight sets, while only two of their sets were decided by a margin of less than three games.
Graduate student Alexander Thams earned the first singles point, defeating Bradley’s Evgeny Samoylov 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2. Sanborn added to the point total with his dominating 6-0, 6-1 victory over Vuk Bolic at No. 3. And Seyferth clinched the Cats’ win, besting Richard Robertson 7-5, 6-2 at No. 6.
Seyferth struggled a little in the first set, playing from behind most of the set. He was down 4-5 before taking the next three games to win the set.
The freshman said he had trouble with Robertson’s big serve. He added that after he got a rhythm on the serve, he was able to take advantage and take control of the match.
“You just have to focus on every point because at any moment he can let down with his energy or his serve and that’s when you have to take advantage,” Seyferth said. “You just have to be ready, and fortunately I was able to do that.”
Gomez broke his opponent’s serve to win each set, defeating Wilder Sampson 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. At No. 1, Dwyer earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Milos Romic, and at No. 4 freshman Pete Rispoli took the last singles point with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Michel Macara-chvili.
Between the doubles and singles matches, there was an awards ceremony hosted by coach Arvid Swan. Two awards were presented – one for a former player and one for a current one – for excellence on and off the court for Northwestern tennis.
Willy Lock, who played at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots last year, received one of the awards, and Sanborn received the other.
With all the events surrounding this weekend, the stands were filled with spectators. Swan said he was pleased with the turnout for the dual.
“It’s fantastic,” Swan said. “We had a good crowd today. (There are) a lot of supporters of the university and our program. That was terrific to have that kind of support. We’re trying to build (the support) so that all our home matches have a full group of stands and people watching.”
Up next, the Cats will head to Virginia to face No. 32 VCU and No. 38 William & Mary next weekend. Swan said the team will have to play at a very high level to win the matches on the road.
