As Indiana’s Jip van Assendelft’s shot collided with the net, junior Greyson Casey dropped his racquet and pumped his fists in celebration. No. 68 Northwestern was now tied 3-3 against No. 62 Indiana and just one match away from a weekend sweep. The final player, in the top singles slot, was junior Cyrus Mahjoob.
Mahjoob, who has played 17 matches at No. 2 singles, was bumped up to the top spot after sophomore Carter Pate sat out with an apparent wrist injury. After the Georgia transfer dropped his first set against Sam Landau and trailed 4-2 in the second set, he won 10 of the following 13 games to claim the comeback victory.
“This is definitely one of the best moments I’ve been in,” Mahjoob said postgame Sunday. “Seeing how ecstatic everyone was around me after I won match point, there’s nothing like it.”
The Wildcats’ (15-10, 3-7 Big Ten) 4-3 win over the Hoosiers (9-9, 3-6 Big Ten) at the Combe Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon came two days after their 4-0 win over Purdue on Friday. In NU’s final home weekend of the regular season, it went undefeated over multiple games for the first time since Feb. 14.
NU also celebrated Senior Day on Sunday, honoring senior Chad Miller before his final home match.
The ’Cats took care of business against the Boilermakers (4-14, 0-9 Big Ten) to open the weekend, dropping just three sets. NU nabbed the doubles point thanks to wins from the No. 18-ranked pairing of Pate and Casey at first doubles and Mahjoob and junior Ethan Schiffman at second doubles.
Pate cruised at No. 1 singles, winning 6-3, 6-4 to give the ’Cats a 2-0 lead. Schiffman won his match next, notching an identical 6-3, 6-4 final score before Mahjoob closed out the victory for NU with a 6-4, 6-3 win.
The doubles point didn’t come nearly as easy for the ’Cats against Indiana on Sunday. After freshman Cooper Han and junior Owen Megargee fell in No. 2 doubles, NU’s first and third pairing headed to tiebreaks. At first doubles, Mahjoob and Schiffman trailed 6-3 in the seven point tiebreak before winning five straight points to win the match. Casey and Miller were down 2-0 in their tiebreak, but they battled back for the 7-6(3) win.
“We just looked down at the other courts and we realized that we really needed to get this match,” Casey said postgame Sunday.
Schiffman put the ’Cats ahead 2-0 with a 7-5, 6-1 win at third singles. However, the Hoosiers nabbed the next three points, winning at sixth, fourth and fifth singles. The match came down to Casey and Mahjoob.
Both of Casey’s sets went to tiebreaks, and he came out on top in both, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(3). With the game resting in the hands of Mahjoob, he defeated Landau 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“We had a really good week of practice and we just keep showing up,” coach Arvid Swan said postgame Sunday. “That’s a huge credit to our team. They put us in position today to win, and the work is showing.”
NU heads out west to face USC and UCLA next weekend.
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