March 28, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - With a 4-3 victory over Fresno State, the No. 35 Northwestern men's tennis team wraps up a spring break California road trip with a 1-1 record.
The Wildcats (11-4, 4-0 Big Ten) moved up to No. 35 in the latest Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings despite dropping to San Diego earlier in the week. Fresno State, which is unranked, falls to 4-15 overall.
NU started off sluggish in doubles play, losing at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots before Ryan Edlefsen (Eden Prairie, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson) and Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) pulled out a 9-7 victory at the No. 3 position.
In singles action, freshman Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) wasted no time taking care of his opponent in the No. 1 position for his fourth consecutive victory at the top spot. Jamie Sahara (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph) won a three-set match at the No. 3 position, while freshman Chuck Perrin (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) won his third consecutive match at the No. 6 spot.
Next up for the Wildcats is a Big Ten match at No. 3 Illinois on Thursday, April 4. NU will put their perfect conference record on the line against an Illini team that was ranked No. 1 a few weeks ago.
No. 35 Northwestern 4, Fresno State 3
Doubles
1. Nick Fustar/Dustin Ilic, FSU def. Tommy Hanus/Russell Bennett, 8-5
2. Hector Almada/Stefan Suta, FSU def. Jackie Jenkins/Chuck Perrin, 8-5
3. Ryan Edlefsen/Josh Axler, NU, def. Alex Krohn/Greg Shearer, 9-7
Singles
1. Tommy Hanus, NU def. Nick Fustar, 6-1, 6-3
2. Hector Almada, FSU def. Ryan Edlefsen, 6-4, 6-2
3. Jamie Sahara, NU def. Stefan Suta, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. Alex Krohn, FSU def. Josh Axler, 6-2, 6-4
5. Joost Hol, NU def. Greg Shearer, 6-4, 7-5
6. Chuck Perrin, NU def. Dustin Ilic, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3