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Jan. 17, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
After a fall season in which one tandem was crowned champion at the adidas Invitational and another reached the ITA Midwest region final, Northwestern's men's tennis team kicks off the 2003 season against Denver and Northern Illinois this weekend at Combe Tennis Center. The No. 47 Wildcats meet the Pioneers on Saturday at 10 a.m. and the Huskies on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Last season, Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) jumped out of the gates to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year and ITA Region IV Rookie of the Year honors. Following a strong fall season, it might be Adam Schaechterle's (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) chance to shine in his first year.
Schaechterle went 13-3 overall in doubles play last fall, including a 7-2 mark with senior Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman). The duo advanced to the ITA Region IV doubles final. Schaechterle then reached the doubles final with Hanus at last weekend's Milwaukee Tennis Classic. Schaechterle also went 6-4 in singles play.
Jackie Jenkins (College Park, Ga./Westlake) and Chuck Perrin (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) developed good chemistry, winning the doubles title in September's adidas Invitational.
NU, which went 20-10 in doubles play in the fall, will get a tough test in NIU's Juan Pablo Barriga and Erick Martinez, the No. 20 duo in the country. The Huskies' top tandem took home the ITA Region IV doubles title, defeating Axler and Schaechterle 8-6. The Huskies' tandem of Raymond van Wasbeek and Aaron Forsberg is No. 34 to start the year. History is on the Wildcats' side, though, as NU has downed NIU all 27 times the schools have met.
Denver is led by junior Urban Ljubic, who finished 14-9 last year. Ljubic finished the fall the twelfth-ranked player in the Mountain region. Hans Peter Gaber also returns from a 14-12 campaign.
The Pioneers' head coach, Geoff Young, is back in Evanston. Young played for the 'Cats from 1991 to 1994. He was a two-time All-Big Ten athlete for Northwestern. Young is also ninth on NU's career singles wins list with 83 and is tenth in career winning percentage with a .634 mark.