March 24, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - After falling to No. 13 Pepperdine Wednesday, 6-1, Northwestern's west coast tour does not get any easier as the squad stops at the No. 35 University of San Diego Toreros -- winners of 10 of their last 11 -- Friday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m. CT.
The Toreros return to their home arena after a successful business trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they disposed of Hawaii and Xavier by scores of 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.
San Diego (10-4) had dropped its first three matches of the season before winning eight matches in a row. Virginia Commonwealth ended that streak March 18 with a 5-1 win.
The Toreros' Pierrick Ysern is the nation's ninth-ranked singles player. Ysern would normally face Northwestern's Tommy Hanus (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), but Hanus was forced to withdraw from his match against Pepperdine due to sickness and is questionable for Friday.
Sophomore Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) has won six of his last eight matches and holds a team-best 17-7 overall record and 11-3 dual mark.
The Wildcats return to Evanston to reopen Big Ten play Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, against Indiana and Penn State. Northwestern will only face Big Ten competition from there on out.