May 12, 1999
NORTHWESTERN MEN'S TENNIS
11-12; 4-6 Big Ten Regular Season - National Ranking: 54
NCAA Regional Championships
Atkins Tennis Center - Champaign, Ill.
May 15 - May 16, 1999
'Cats Face Illinois in NCAA Regionals
Northwestern, the No. 54-ranked team in the country, will face No. 4-ranked and third-seeded Illinois in the NCAA Regionals on Sat., May 15 at 1 p.m. CT. The other match taking place that day at Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center will be Michigan vs. Vanderbilt at 9 a.m. CT. The two winners will meet on Sunday at noon for a berth into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen being held in Athens, Ga. on May 22-25.
NU enters the NCAA Regionals with an 11-12 dual record. Its last outing was a 4-2 loss to Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships on May 1.
Northwestern in the NCAA Championships
This marks the eighth appearance for Northwestern in the NCAA Championships and its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Regionals. At the regional held last year at Notre Dame, the Wildcats defeated Louisville, 4-3, then lost to Minnesota in the next round, 4-2.
NU has made two appearances in the Sweet 16 (1990, 1997). The Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1997 after winning the Midwest Regional in Champaign, Ill. The 'Cats knocked off Indiana (4-1), Illinois (4-0) and Minnesota (4-2) for the regional title. At the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, the 'Cats fell to UCLA, 4-0.
In 1990, NU defeated Alabama (5-2) before being eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Georgia (5-2).
The Series Between Northwestern and Illinois
This will mark the second meeting of the year between Northwestern and Illinois. On March 6, the Fighting Illini defeated the Wildcats in Evanston (6-1). Freshman Joost Hol provided the lone NU point at No. 5 singles with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Royce Ramey. Matches at No. 1 singles, No. 4 singles and No. 6 singles were all decided in three sets.
Illinois leads the all-time series between the two schools, 41-37-3.
'Cats at the 1999 Big Ten Championships
Northwestern, the seventh seed, knocked off Penn State (4-1) in the first round of the Big Ten Championships held in Ann Arbor. The 'Cats advanced to the semifinals on Apr. 30, with a 4-3 upset victory over second-seeded Michigan. The Wildcats avenged a 6-1 loss to Michigan suffered only five days prior to the championships. In the semifinals, Northwestern was stopped by Purdue (4-2).
Head Coach Paul Torricelli:
Paul Torricelli is in his 16th season as head coach of the Northwestern men's tennis program. Torricelli, the all-time winningest coach in NU history, has an overall record of 247-166. Torricelli was twice named the Big Ten Coach of the Year (1993, 1997). His 1997 team won the Midwest Regional championship and as a result he was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Torricelli guided Northwestern to Sweet 16 appearances in 1990 and 1997.
Big Ten Sportsman of the Year
Northwestern senior Doug Bohaboy was named the Big Ten Sportsman of the Year in a vote by the conference's 11 head coaches. Bohaboy also picked up All-Big Ten honors for the first time in his career. He was one of 12 players selected to the All-Big Ten Conference men's tennis team.
Bohaboy, the nation's No. 55-ranked singles player, compiled a 28-14 singles record during the 1998-99 season. He went 8-2 in Big Ten competition while playing at the No. 1 position and led the Wildcats to their 11th-straight appearance in the Big Ten Championship semifinals.
Bohaboy to Compete in Athens, Ga.
Senior captain Doug Bohaboy earned an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Singles Championships at the University of Georgia on May 26-30.
Bohaboy Surpasses Century Mark
During his four-year career at Northwestern, Bohaboy has averaged more than 26
singles victories per season. This year, he garnered his 100th career singles victory in a win over Wisconsin's Mark Loughrin on April 4. Bohaboy's career singles record stands at 106-45. His postseason singles record is an astonishing 16-1 over the past four seasons which includes Big Ten Championship and NCAA Championship action.
Bohaboy's Streak Ends
Senior captain Doug Bohaboy took over the No. 1 singles position for NU after Marc Silva left the team in February. He finished the regular season with an
8-2 Big Ten mark and won seven-straight conference matches before falling to Michigan's Matt Wright on Apr. 25 (6-1, 3-6, 6-1). That match also ended Bohaboy's streak of 14-consecutive sets won.
NU's No. 1 Doubles Team:
Doug Bohaboy and Martin Bengtsson comprise NU's No. 1 doubles team. The duo is currently ranked No. 49 in the country and has compiled a 17-10 overall record this season. They enter this weekend's NCAA Regional Championships on a five-match winning streak. After getting off to a slow start in the Big Ten, the pair turned it around to post a 5-4 record in the conference.
'Cats in the National Rankings:
NU has been ranked among the nation's elite throughout the 1998-99 season:
Preseason 32 Fall 37 First Spring Ranking 33 Second Spring Ranking 52 Third Spring Ranking 34 Fourth Spring Ranking 39 Fifth Spring Ranking 54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
SINGLES
Name No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 Overall Dual Big Ten Marc Silva 2-2 1-0 --- --- --- --- 6-6 3-2 1-0 Doug Bohaboy 12-6 2-2 --- --- --- --- 28-14 14-8 8-2 Derrick Nguyen --- 1-2 7-1 3-4 0-1 1-1 18-15 12-9 5-5 Martin Bengtsson --- 3-10 1-8 --- --- --- 9-23 4-18 2-8 Joost Hol --- --- --- 3-6 6-4 0-1 12-14 9-11 4-4 Brad Erickson --- 0-1 2-4 3-3 3-6 1-0 19-18 9-14 2-8 Austin Brunkhorst --- --- --- --- --- --- 0-1 0-0 0-0 Jamie Sahara --- --- --- --- 1-1 7-9 10-14 8-10 3-6 Brian Moss --- --- --- --- --- 0-2 0-2 0-2 0-2
DOUBLES
Team No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Overall Dual Big Ten Bengtsson/Bohaboy 11-8 --- --- 17-10 11-8 5-4 Nguyen/Sahara --- --- 7-5 10-5 7-5 3-4 Erickson/Hol --- 6-5 --- 9-6 6-5 2-5 Erickson/Nguyen --- 2-4 1-0 3-4 3-4 0-2 Silva/Hol --- 0-1 4-0 4-1 4-1 1-0 Hol/Sahara --- 1-2 0-1 1-3 1-3 1-0 Sahara/Moss --- --- 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 Bohaboy/Erickson 3-0 --- --- 3-0 3-0 1-0 Bengtsson/Nguyen --- --- 2-2 2-2 2-2 1-0