Northwestern secured two decisive victories at the Combe Tennis Center on Saturday, claiming wins over IU-Indianapolis and Cleveland State.
In their first match of the day, the Wildcats (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten) swiftly defeated IU-Indianapolis. While it came down to the wire, NU managed to claim the doubles point before dismantling the Jaguars in singles.
The No. 3 pairing of transfer junior Ethan Schiffman and freshman Cooper Han won 6-0, marking the first match to finish. The No. 2 duo of senior Chad Miller and transfer junior Cyrus Mahjoob lost their match 6-3.
The doubles point then was up to the No. 1 duo of junior Greyson Casey and sophomore Carter Pate. The ’Cats broke their opponents’ serve at 5-5, but the Jaguars broke back to send the match to a tiebreak. Keeping its composure, NU came out on top, winning the tiebreak 7-5 and securing the doubles point.
From there, singles was a breeze for the ’Cats.
At the No. 1 spot, Pate defeated his opponent 6-0, 6-2. Mahjoob’s match was the next to finish at the No. 2 spot as the transfer junior came out on top, winning 6-2, 6-3. Then, sophomore Vincent Yang clinched the match for NU with a score of 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot.
“I thought Vincent Yang played really well in his first match,” coach Arvid Swan said. “I was excited to see him play the way we want him to play.”
Against Cleveland State, although the matches were closer, the team saw similar success. While the ’Cats once again claimed the doubles point, the pairings differed from the first match.
Schiffman and Mahjoob came out on top at the No. 2 spot 6-2, as well as Casey and Pate at the No. 1 spot 6-3. At the No. 3 spot, Miller and Yang had their match unfinished up 4-3.
“We’ve tried a lot of different pairings so far, and so we’re just still trying to find a good mix for three doubles teams,” Swan said.
In singles, Pate dominated at No. 1, defeating his opponent 6-0, 6-2. The next match to finish was freshman Cooper Han at the No. 6 slot, who defeated his opponent 6-4, 6-1. Then, Schiffman clinched for the ’Cats, winning 6-4, 6-2.
At No. 1, Mahjoob lost 7-5, 6-2 to the Vikings’ Lincoln Battle. Miller also fell 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot. Yang’s match, the last to finish, was decided by a ten-point tiebreak after he and his opponent split sets. Yang won in a decisive 10-4 victory.
NU returns to action at Alabama on Friday and at home on Sunday for a doubleheader against Xavier and Chicago State.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @mayaheyman
Related Stories:
— Men’s Tennis: Northwestern drops season opener against Vanderbilt
— Men’s Tennis: Freshmen gather steam at Big Ten Individual Championships
