Northwestern men’s tennis may have found itself a new No. 1 player.

Sophomore Greyson Casey delivered two memorable performances at the top singles spot in the team’s season-opening doubleheader Friday, clinching a 4-3 victory in a morning tussle against UIC and overcoming physical struggles to help secure a 7-0 win over Saint Joseph’s that evening.

The Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) started the morning off on the wrong foot, dropping the doubles point to UIC. The pairings of Casey and junior Chad Miller at No. 1, as well as senior Felix Nordby and freshman Vincent Yang at No. 2, each lost 6-2 sets.

When coach Arvid Swan unveiled his singles lineup, Casey’s selection at the No. 1 spot signaled a departure from last season’s pecking order.

The Oro Valley, Arizona native finished his first dual season with a 3-11 singles record, with all but one of those matches coming at the No. 5 spot. Casey showed signs of significant improvement this fall, taking a set off Michigan No. 1 Gavin Young — who finished last season ranked No. 22 nationally in singles — at the ITA Midwest Regional and winning his first-round match at the Big Ten Individual Championships.

“From freshman year to sophomore year, he’s taken a big jump,” Swan said of Casey after the day’s matches.

NU got off to a strong start in the singles action against the Flames, taking five of six first sets. 

Graduate student Saiprakash Goli was the first to finish, winning 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot. Nordby, playing at No. 2, followed shortly thereafter with a 6-4, 6-4 win, while No. 5 Miller won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Senior Max Bengtsson played two close sets but could not get over the line in a 7-5, 7-5 loss at No. 4.

With NU up 3-2 on the day and needing one more win to clinch a team victory, both Casey and sophomore No. 6 Nick Herdoiza found themselves in razor-tight third sets. It was Casey who finished the job.

With UIC No. 1 Artem Alekseychuk serving at 4-5, 40-0 in the third set, a series of unforced errors gave Casey an opportunity to seal the match on a deuce point. Casey took advantage of a mid-court rally ball and hit an aggressive inside-out forehand, forcing Alekseychuk into a backhand error and clinching the win for the ’Cats. Herdoiza fell short in his contest, losing 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

That same evening, NU returned to Combe Tennis Center to take on Saint Joseph’s. After underwhelming doubles play in the morning, Swan changed all of his pairings — Casey and Nordby played at the No. 1 spot, followed by Goli and Miller at No. 2 and Herdoiza and Yang at No. 3.

That move paid dividends, as NU claimed a hard-fought doubles point. Goli and Miller earned a 6-3 victory, but Casey and Nordby lost six straight games from 3-0 up, leaving the point up to the youngest of the pairings.

Yang and Herdoiza’s opponents served for the match at 6-5, but Herdoiza dialed in when it mattered most. He hit a return winner at 30-30 and then drilled the Hawks’ Matthew Dubas with a forehand down-the-line passing shot at deuce to force a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Yang put away a backhand crosscourt volley at 6-5 to seal the doubles point.

The singles matches were smoother sailing for NU. Swan tweaked the lineup, bringing in Yang for Herdoiza at No. 6 and switching around Goli and Nordby at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.

Goli took the move up the lineup in stride, winning 6-3, 6-1 and earning the team’s most lopsided singles victory for the second straight match. Goli attributed his hot start to increased aggression. 

“One of my strengths is I’m pretty quick,” Goli said. “But I’m trying to use that speed to play more aggressive — trying to finish points a little bit quicker.”

Around the time Goli finished, Bengtsson claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4. Yang clinched the match for the Wildcats, collecting his first career dual season singles win. After winning a topsy-turvy first set that saw six breaks of serve, Yang cruised in the second set, winning the match 7-6(4), 6-1.

Nordby and Miller each scored three-set victories, but the most intriguing spectacle of the day occurred on Court 3, where Casey was battling against St. Joseph’s No. 1 Justus Agbo. 

After convincingly winning the first set, Casey began to cramp up at 3-3 in the second set, stretching his legs and limping between points.

When the NU No. 1 narrowly missed an inside-out forehand on Agbo’s fifth set point to lose the second-set tiebreak, he appeared to receive treatment on both of his hamstrings.

Yet, Casey stepped out for a third-set 10-point tiebreak and redlined his game to the maximum extent. Going for a winner on nearly every shot while still struggling with his mobility, Casey stormed to a 10-3 victory in the tiebreak.

Although Casey’s shotmaking was eye-catching, Goli said he thought the sophomore’s biggest improvement had come in the mental department.

“Before, I would say he was good mentally, but he wouldn’t give 100% every single point,” Goli said. “But I feel like every single point he’s locked in. He knows exactly what patterns he wants to play, he knows his game style a little bit more. He knows his identity on the court.”

Email: [email protected] 

X : @EliKronenberg

Related Stories:

— Men’s Tennis: Northwestern takes on ITA Regional Championships in East Lansing

—  Men’s Tennis: Goli, Megargee begin fall season with deep runs at Milwaukee Tennis Classic

— Men’s Tennis: Northwestern falls to Santa Clara in UTR Sports NIT Championship quarterfinal