Feb. 15, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Long, late-night flights and stiff competition are in store for Northwestern's men's tennis team this weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Seattle to participate in the Great Northwest Shootout.
The No. 49 Wildcats (5-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will take on No. 24 Indiana State, No. 55 Louisville and host school No. 23 Washington over three days.
It will be the first road matches for NU, and the most difficult travel of the season. After Sunday's match against Washington, the team will take a red-eye flight back to Chicago, arriving at approximately 5 a.m.
The 'Cats, coming off a 5-2 win over No. 75 Ball State last weekend, will face several ranked individuals, including No. 44 Matt Hanlin of Washington. Louisville's doubles team of Cody Conley and Joachim Lien is ranked No. 18.
A key matchup could be NU's freshman Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) against Indiana State's Stefan Hirn. Both have been playing in the No. 2 position lately, and Hirn is ranked No. 58 nationally. Hanus is unranked, but holds a perfect 6-0 dual-match record.