Most players would cringe at having to play the second-ranked team in the nation. But graduate student Alexander Thams said he couldn’t ask for anything better.
Facing No. 2 Ohio State (25-1, 8-0 Big Ten) today could likely put an end to No. 44 Northwestern’s (17-6, 5-3) current four-game conference winning streak. The Buckeyes have hardly been challenged in conference play this season, winning six matches, 7-0, and the other two, 6-1.
The Wildcats are nevertheless eager to put their winning streak on the line against an elite program like Ohio State. Coach Arvid Swan said it will be good for the players to gauge their abilities against a national championship caliber tennis team.
“We don’t worry so much about the team, it is the level of play that we look at,” Swan said. “We have to try to do our best to compete at every position against them. I think that will be helpful for us, to try and see where our level is.”
The team said it is actually more relaxed about facing Ohio State than it was before its recent Big Ten matches. Against teams such as Purdue and Iowa, who were ranked lower than NU, and Wisconsin and Minnesota, who were ranked slightly higher, the pressure was on the Cats because they were expected to win.
“We get to go out there and just let loose,” junior captain Alex Sanborn said. “We have no pressure, all the pressure is on them. We get to know what the competition is from the top schools, and even if we lose or win it’s just a good experience to play a good team.”
During its four-game winning streak, NU has had the luxury of three straight games at home against ranked opponents. The Cats will not be as fortunate this weekend, as they travel to Columbus, Ohio, as well as University Park, Pa. on Sunday to take on Penn State (12-11, 3-5).
NU learned from its match against Iowa that winning the doubles point can take the momentum away from the home team and its fans, and the team hopes to do the same on the road this weekend.
“You have to come out and play great doubles, that’s first and foremost,” Swan said. “If we can win the doubles point, it takes the momentum away and some of the energy from the crowd away. We can’t worry about whether they’re emotional or excited or the fans are into it, we just have to execute.”
Heading into its final weekend of regular season matches, NU is tied for third in the conference with Minnesota. Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan are all tied for fifth with records of 4-4, so the next few days will be a major determinant for Big Ten tournament seedings.
With a difficult matchup against the conference-leading Buckeyes, the Cats would need some help from the Hawkeyes or Boilermakers to stay ahead of the Golden Gophers. The fact that NU is even competing for position in the middle of the pack may have surprised some people, but not the players.
“We expected to be here,” Sanborn said. “We expected to win a lot more matches than last year. We knew our freshmen were good and that they would help a lot.”
Regardless of the seed NU gets, the conference wins and the tight matches throughout the season have given the team confidence to take on any opponent.
“Just knowing that we’re one of the better teams in the Big Ten, and just knowing that we’ve beaten most of the teams in the Big Ten Tournament gives us confidence overall,” Sanborn said.
