Men’s Tennis

Northwestern advanced to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament thanks to commanding wins by its younger players.

The No. 23 Wildcats (21-9, 7-4 Big Ten), the No. 5 seed in the tournament, shut out No. 12 seed Michigan State (11-18, 0-11) 4-0 on Thursday at Purdue’s tennis center. NU will now face off against fourth-seeded Wisconsin (16-6, 7-4) on Friday morning.

“It was a really competitive match in singles, and we had three guys really step up in singles to allow us to win the match,” coach Arvid Swan said.

The match began with a competitive doubles point the Cats eventually secured. Senior Strong Kirchheimer and freshman Dominik Starý grabbed a win at No. 2, and freshman Chris Ephron and sophomore Michael Lorenzini secured the point with a 6-3 decision at the No. 3 court.

Underclassmen continued to lead the charge in singles play, picking up straight-set wins at courts No. 4-6 to secure an easy NU win. Sophomore Jason Seidman scored a quick 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 6 — his 12th win in his last 13 completed matches.

At No. 5, sophomore Ben Vandixhorn recorded a 6-3, 6-3 win, and Starý clinched the match with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles.

NU was nearing straight-set victories at No. 1 and 2 singles when the match was clinched, while senior Sam Shropshire was tied early in the third set at No. 3.

Next up for the Cats is a rematch with the Badgers, a team they lost to 4-2 roughly a month ago. On the line will be a berth in the tournament’s semifinals and a likely date with top-seeded Ohio State.

“We’re really excited to play Wisconsin again,” Swan said. “For us it’s a great opportunity to test ourselves against another quality team in the Big Ten, so I’m excited to have the opportunity.”

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