Chris Jackman was playing for his first collegiate win against Penn State’s Taylor Cohen five days ago. He got it.
The stakes were higher on Thursday: Jackman played with Northwestern’s season on the line. He moved the Wildcats to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Jackman won in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), last weekend, but Thursday’s victory didn’t come as easily. He blew three match points in the second set to lose 6-7 and was tied 3-3 in the third set before claiming the win, propelling NU to its first conference tournament game since 2007.
“That’s the most pressure you’re going to get in a college match,” Jackman said. “With that being the last match, your teammates are cheering you on and the opposing team is cheering every mistake that you make. You’re just thinking about the car ride back home if you lose.”
After Thursday’s win, the Cats didn’t have to worry about the trip back to Evanston for at least another 24 hours. Jackman earned NU a chance to face No. 4 Ohio State on Friday morning.
The Cats got off to a solid start Thursday, winning two out of three doubles matches to take the doubles point and a 1-0 lead in the contest. They sealed the win when No. 84 Joshua Graves and Spencer Wolf defeated No. 54 Eddie Bourchier and Guillame St. Maurice 8-6, after losing 8-3 to the same pair five days earlier.
In singles, the Cats prevailed despite troubles at the top of the lineup. For the second time in a week, No. 97 Josh Graves fell to No. 93 Eddie Bourchier at the No. 1 slot, this time in straight sets. At the No. 2 spot, Sidarth Balaji came back from a set down to force a third-set tiebreaker but ultimately fell short against Ryan Gormley.
Strong performances at the bottom of the lineup helped NU, as it picked up points at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 singles.
Junior Andrew McCarthy recorded a straight-set win over Bryan Welnetz at the No. 4 spot, after falling in straight sets to Welnetz on Sunday. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak for McCarthy.
“It was different because I was in control of the match,” McCarthy said. “I had a clear understanding of how he beat me. I didn’t put the ball deep enough in the court. I knew I could beat him. I just had to take a little more risks, go for the corners, and hit deeper, and try to put him on the defense.”
Freshman Spencer Wolf also got revenge, defeating Warren Hardie 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) after losing to him last week. Wolf’s win gave NU a 3-1 lead, but losses by Balaji and senior captain Alex Sanborn knotted the contest at three and put the season into Jackman’s hands.
The victory Thursday was the Cats’ 10th of the season, marking the second straight season NU has reached double digits in wins.
The Cats victory over the Nittany Lions also snapped a seven-game losing streak and gives them some momentum heading into their second-round match-up against the Buckeyes.
“It’s big,” Swan said. “We have some momentum going forward. For the program, it’s important. We want to be a team that’s making progress in the Big Ten. We want to have the ability to play with everybody in the conference.”
The Cats matchup against the Buckeyes comes just one week after Ohio State defeated NU in Evanston, 6-1. The Cats will be looking for another revenge performance.
“Every guy has to play at their best level,” Swan said. “We didn’t have that (last time) against Ohio State. We had some guys play very well and others not. We need to be across the board, three doubles teams and six singles players playing at the very best level that they can.”
After the win, Jackman will go into the Ohio State match with a healthy dose of confidence.
“His game came together at the end of the season,” Swan said. “He’s playing very well at an important time of the year.”[email protected]
