Northwestern is on a roll.
After dropping their first two contests of the spring season, the Wildcats (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) have won seven straight matches, four of which were sweeps.
Sophomore Carter Pate has led NU in singles, posting a 7-2 record while only playing in the first and second slots. Junior Ethan Schiffman boasts a record of 6-1 and a six-match win streak from the third and fourth singles slots.
In doubles, Pate and junior Greyson Casey have posted a 6-0 record as partners, with all of their wins coming at No. 1 doubles. Schiffman is also 6-0 in doubles, nabbing his wins with two different partners.
The ’Cats’ two losses came against Vanderbilt and Louisville. In both contests, NU was able to win one singles match, with Pate nabbing a ranked win over Vanderbilt’s then-No. 64 Pablo Martinez Gomez and junior Cyrus Mahjoob beating Louisville’s Hamza El Amine.
The same weekend, the ’Cats took down Youngstown State 4-0. They dropped just three sets across the board during the sweep. This marked Mahjoob’s first match at No. 1 singles. Since then, he has played a total of four matches at the first singles slot, holding a 1-1 record with two matches unfinished.
NU continued its winning streak with a win over IU Indy 4-0 on Jan. 24. After splitting the second and third doubles matches, Casey and Pate nabbed the win at No. 1 doubles to give the ’Cats the first point of the matchup. NU took care of business in the singles matches, not dropping any sets on its way to consecutive sweeps.
Then, the ’Cats defeated Cleveland State 4-2 the same day, and despite not getting the sweep, they secured the win before their opponent could win one match.
After playing five straight matches at home, NU headed to Alabama for its first road test. It posted strong wins over Alabama and Xavier, winning 6-1 and 4-0, respectively. The win over the Crimson Tide was highlighted by Mahjoob’s upset win over Alabama’s No. 27 Matic Kriznik while the ’Cats dropped just three sets in their win over Xavier.
NU returned home and defeated Chicago State in a 7-0 thumping. The ’Cats went back on the road to face Memphis on Sunday, winning 4-2. NU’s first and second doubles teams both won in tiebreakers over the No. 83 and No. 87-ranked teams, respectively.
Consistency for the top doubles teams and shifts among the singles slots seem to be working well for coach Arvin Swan.
The ’Cats carry their win streak into a doubleheader against Marquette and Illinois State at the Combe Tennis Center on Saturday.
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