April 12, 2001
Evanston, Ill. - The Northwestern men's tennis team will wrap up its home schedule this weekend with two matches against conference opponents at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. NU will square off against Minnesota at noon Saturday and then return to the courts Sunday at noon to face Wisconsin. In the event of inclement weather, the matches will be moved inside to the Johnson Tennis Center.
This will be the 86th meeting between the Gophers and the Wildcats with the `Cats holding a slight 43-41-1 advantage in the all-time series. Last year in Minneapolis, Minnesota handed NU a 5-2 loss during the regular season. The teams met again in the second round of the Big Ten Championships, where Minnesota won, 4-1. The Gophers top player, Harsh Mankand, is currently ranked 52nd, compiling a 10-6 dual record.
Wisconsin and NU will be meeting for the 90th time with the Wildcats taking 50 of those matches. The `Cats won their only meeting last season, 4-3. In fact, NU has defeated Wisconsin by a score of 4-3 the past four seasons. The Badgers are led by junior Danny Westermann, who has posted a 12-4 dual record this season.
For the Wildcats, sophomore Josh Axler is leading the team with five conference wins, which also ties him for the Big Ten lead at No. 6 singles. NU has also found success in its new doubles pairing, winning the doubles point in their last two outings.