Feb. 14, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - 40th-ranked Northwestern runs up against its second top-25 opponent of the season, sixth-ranked Mississippi, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15 in the Combe Tennis Center.
The Wildcats defeated 18th-ranked North Carolina Jan. 30, 5-2.
Northwestern (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) is coming off a strong performance in their Big Ten opener against Wisconsin last Saturday. NU took two of three doubles matches and four of six singles to beat the Badgers, 5-2.
Against Wisconsin, sophomore Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) won his fourth-straight singles match, improving to 4-3 on the year.
Senior Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) improved his dual mark to 4-2 with a 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 1.
Hanus will most likely go up against Mississippi's top-ranked player, Catalin Gard, at the No. 1 singles position. Gard is currently the top-ranked singles player in the nation and is the returning 2004 SEC Player of the year after posting a 28-9 record.
The Rebels come to Evanston with a 3-0 overall record, having not dropped a single point in those three matches. Mississippi opened the year by sweeping New Orleans 7-0, went on to blank Tennessee Tech 7-0, and most recently defeated intra-state rival Mississippi State 4-0 in the eighth-annual Mississippi Cup.
The 4-0 win marked the sixth-straight cup for the Rebels after the Bulldogs won the first two.
Following Tuesday's competition, Northwestern will travel to 29th-ranked Notre Dame for a Friday, Feb. 18 match.