In its final conference road match, Northwestern looked to pick up a much-needed victory against in-state rival Illinois. However, coach Arvid Swan’s squad came out sluggish, falling in a 7-0 rout Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (8-16, 2-5 Big Ten) struggled to find their rhythm away from home, and the Fighting Illini (14-8, 4-3 Big Ten) swiftly capitalized.
On court one, senior Saiprakash Goli and freshman Nick Herdoiza were handily defeated 6-1 by former five-star recruit Lucas Horve and Tyler Bowers.
Illinois continued its scorching hot streak, nabbing the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead on court two, where the ’Cats’ duo of senior Presley Thieneman and freshman Greyson Casey fell 6-4 to Mathis Debru and Kenta Miyoshi.
Once the match switched over to the singles portion, NU’s woes continued as the Fighting Illini swept all six courts to secure a 7-0 blowout victory.
Despite not securing a point in the singles portion, several members of Swan’s squad, including Casey, displayed resilience in their matches.
After dropping the first set 7-5 to freshman Jeremy Zhang, Casey bounced back impressively, winning the second set with a commanding 6-1 score. In the third set, Casey went toe-to-toe with Zhang but ultimately fell just short, with the Illinois freshman securing a 6-4 win.
The ’Cats will look to snap their two-game losing streak on Friday as they host Indiana at the Combe Tennis Center.
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Twitter: @JacobKHare
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