Jan. 31, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Could men's tennis head coach Paul Torricelli have a busier weekend?
On Thursday, he welcomed two members of the U.S. Davis Cup team to town. On Friday, he and the university will dedicate the new Combe Tennis Center. On Saturday, his team will open the Big Ten season, and on Sunday they will host the No. 7 team in the country.
No. 45 Northwestern, off to a 3-0 start, will host Purdue on Saturday and No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday. Both matches are part of the grand opening weekend festivities and begin at 3 p.m.
Prior to guiding his team through a pair of tough dual matches, Torricelli will witness one of his former players, Todd Martin, compete in an exhibition match against James Blake Friday evening at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Martin, a former All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, is the most successful Wildcat to date. After establishing his professional career in 1990, he went on to compete in many Grand Slam events, making it to the finals of the 1999 U.S. Open where he was defeated by Andre Agassi.
Blake, who is currently Martin's teammate on the U.S. Davis Cup Team, was an All-American at Harvard.
But come Saturday, the men's team must put the celebration aside and return to the business of defending their unblemished dual season record.
For Torricelli, this is truly a weekend that highlights the past, present and future of Northwestern tennis.