In a season marked by rapid improvement and close calls, the announcement that Northwestern narrowly made it into the NCAA tournament seemed only natural.
The tournament berth is the first for the Wildcats since 2005, which none of the current roster was a part of. NU will play in the Lexington, Ky., bracket, squaring off against No. 18 Wake Forest in the first round, on Friday, May 8 at 9 a.m.
A year removed from going winless in Big Ten play, NU finished 6-4 in the conference. Ranked No. 42 heading into the Big Ten Tournament, the Cats lost a tight match to Michigan that left their tournament hopes in jeopardy.
“We were what you’d call a bubble team,” senior Marc Dwyer said. “Like Arizona this year in basketball, they squeaked in. We deserved to make it and we got in.”
Although the players said they knew they deserved to make the tournament, that didn’t stop them from feeling nervous as they awaited the announcement.
“We were all nervous, sitting there, just watching the TV,” freshman Joshua Graves said. “When we saw Northwestern, everyone just gave each other high fives and fist pumps.”
Graves, along with fellow freshmen Eric Spector and Tobias Reitz, have been constant contributors to the Cats’ turnaround this season. Graves is tied for the team lead in singles wins with 19, while Reitz played at No. 2 singles for most of the season.
Spector, who went 14-5 in singles, said making the tournament was especially gratifying for the seniors.
“It’s really tough to describe,” Spector said, regarding how he felt when he found out the team made the tournament. “I was especially happy for the seniors, because just like everything this season, it’s a testament to how hard we’ve worked and how far we’ve come.”
In its second season under coach Arvid Swan, the team has improved tremendously, winning 11 more matches than last season. Swan said it is a “great opportunity” for the team to play in the NCAA Tournament.
NU’s opponent in the first round, Wake Forest, has had trouble against Big Ten teams this season, going 1-3 throughout February and early March. It lost to Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin, but knocked out Michigan, 6-1. The Cats beat the Golden Gophers and Badgers earlier in the season, but lost to the Wolverines twice, most recently in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Of their eight losses, six have been by a 4-3 margin. Spector said the close matches make NU belong with the nation’s best teams.
“We’ve proven that we’re a good team,” Spector said. “Every match we play, we’re in the match, and we’ve always put ourselves in a position to win the match. I really think we’ve proven that we deserved it, now we have to go out there and prove it again.”
Going into the season, the team had two major goals: to go at least .500 in the conference and to make the NCAA Tournament. Check, and check.
With the NCAA Tournament appearance a reality, the team is setting its goals even higher.
“Now we have to change our goal,” Graves said. “It’s to win our first match in the tournament. Our goals change, but we’re ready to pursue those goals.”
