April 22, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - For the first time since 1991, the Big Ten Men's Tennis Championship is back on the campus of Northwestern University. With the regular season complete, the seeds are set and play is scheduled to begin Thursday, April 24 at 10 a.m. at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. Admission is free as the event runs through Sunday, April 27.
Ninth-seeded NU meets eighth-seeded Indiana on Thursday in first-round action. The Wildcats and Hoosiers share identical 3-7 conference records, but IU defeated NU, 4-3, in February. NU led that match 3-2 before IU tallied the last two points. Ryan Recht clinched the match for the Hoosiers and enters this weekend tied with Jakub Praibis for the most wins on the team with 14. The Wildcats hold a 38-32 series edge.
"Last weekend was disappointing," said NU head coach Paul Torricelli. "We wanted to go into the tournament with more momentum, and we'll have to regroup. I'm confident we will and I know our guys are excited about another shot at Indiana. Other than that, we're really eager to host the 2003 Big Ten Championship."
In other first-round action, seventh-seeded Michigan takes on 10th-seeded Wisconsin, and sixth-seeded Iowa meets 11th-seeded Penn State.
Top-ranked Illinois secured the No. 1 seed after going undefeated in the regular season (23-0, 10-0). The Illini are gunning for their sixth title in the last seven years. Like the No. 1 seed, second-seeded Ohio State, third-seeded Minnesota, fourth-seeded Purdue and fifth-seeded Michigan State each get first-round byes.
MORE NU ITEMS
Northwestern enters the weekend as the No. 9 seed. With a 3-7 conference record, NU finished the regular season tied for sixth in the conference. The Wildcats started the year winning eight of their first 10 matches before dropping nine of their last 11.
Sophomore Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) led the team with a 20-15 overall singles record, including an 11-9 mark at the No. 1 spot. Hanus, who posted his second consecutive 20-win season, is one of four Wildcats who posted a 4-6 Big Ten dual mark.
Senior Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) has been the hottest of NU's players. After starting the year 1-4 in Big Ten play, Axler has since won his last five conference matches, giving him a team-best 6-4 record. His 17-15 overall record is the second best on the team.
Torricelli tinkered with the doubles lineup throughout the season. The most recent changes, among others, paired Hanus and classmate Chuck Perrin (Atlanta, Ga./The Walker School) at No. 1. The duo is 5-3 overall and a team best 4-2 in conference competition.
NU lost its first match of the Championship in 2002. The fourth-seeded Wildcats fell to fifth-seeded Purdue, 4-2, in Columbus, Ohio. NU holds nine Big Ten titles; its last came in 1990.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP NOTABLES
* Michigan is vying for its 38th conference championship and trails only Michigan football (40 titles) for the most titles by any one team in Big Ten history.
* Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin are the only schools that have yet to win a conference championship.
* The winner of the Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
* In the April 16 ITA rankings, 10 Big Ten schools were ranked in the top-70, including three in the top-25 (No. 1 Illinois, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 23 Ohio State).
2003 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE*
Thursday, April 24
No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Northwestern, 10 a.m.
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Wisconsin, 10 a.m.
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Penn State, 2 p.m.
Friday, April 25
No. 1 Illinois vs. No. 8/9, 10 a.m.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7/10, 10 a.m.
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 5 Michigan State, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 6/11, 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 26
Semifinal Match, noon
Semifinal Match, noon
Sunday, April 27
Championship Match, noon
*Note: All times Central and subject to change. Matches will be moved indoors to the Combe Tennis Center in the event of inclement weather.