Men’s Tennis: Northwestern players exit early from ITA All-American Championships

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Daily file photo by Daniel Tian

Konrad Zieba readies for a backhand return. The senior was upset in the first round of the main singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships, losing in straight sets to Christian Sigsgaard of Texas.

Ryan Wangman, Reporter


Men’s Tennis


Northwestern’s fall tournament play began at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this past week with early round exits from top returning singles players and seniors Konrad Zieba and Strong Kirchheimer.

Although both Zieba and Kirchheimer automatically qualified for the main draw of the tournament based on last season’s high-level performances, both were beaten in straight sets in the round of 64. The doubles team of Kirchheimer and sophomore Ben Vandixhorn also exited in the first round of doubles qualifying.

Wildcats’ coach Arvid Swan saw the slow start as something the team could work on the rest of the season.

“We would’ve liked to advance further in the tournament,” Swan said. “But at the same time they competed well and it’s something to build on.”

Kirchheimer was defeated 6-4, 7-5 by No. 9 Arthur Rinderknech of Texas A&M, and Zieba fell 6-1, 6-4 to eventual semifinalist Christian Sigsgaard of Texas in a field that was loaded with top-class competition, featuring eight of the top 10 ranked players in the nation.

“I know that wasn’t the best foot forward from Konrad and me,” Kirchheimer said. “But we’re going to be better from it.”

Boasting a 30-4 record in singles play last year, Kirchheimer had looked to hone his skills this past summer. He played on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures Tour, competing in 10 tournaments over the course of 14 weeks.

That wealth of experience allowed him to put his performance in perspective.

“Overall that was one bad result, and I’ve played a lot, so it was not the end of the world for me,” Kirchheimer said.

After a tournament that didn’t go according to plan for NU’s entrants, Swan emphasized the importance of working on the fundamentals at upcoming practices, especially serving, playing off the serve, returning and being solid off of the first strike. The Cats will have a chance to improve at the ITA Midwest Regionals, set to start Oct. 20, in the first opportunity for the entirety of the team to play together.

Swan said he wasn’t phased by the poor performance of his players and said he’s confident in their ability.

“(Zieba, Kirchheimer and Vandixhorn) are elite college players,” Swan said. “I know that, and they know that.”

And with the team season still months away, Kirchheimer was optimistic about his teammates’ ability to put this behind them.

“I guarantee you the Cats will put in a good amount of work to make sure we’re ready to go when January rolls around for the team season,” he said.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the tours of professional tennis on which Strong Kirchheimer played this summer. They were the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures Tour. The Daily regrets the error.

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