Jan. 18, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following a split of the first weekend of the 2007 dual season, the 56th-ranked 'Cats will welcome No. 69 Ball State Friday at 6 p.m. and 10th-ranked and defending national champion Pepperdine Sunday at 1 p.m. to the Combe Tennis Center. Head coach Paul Torricelli welcomes Pepperdine head coach Adam Steinberg back to Evanston. Steinberg served as an assistant on Torricelli's staff from 1995-97.
The Wildcats will play matches three and four of a seven-match home stand to start the dual season. This year's home slate is arguably the most impressive under Torricelli. The 'Cats welcome top 30 opponents No. 10 Pepperdine on Sunday, No. 24 Wake Forest, No. 30 Arkansas and No. 6 Mississippi before Big Ten season begins February 16 against Penn State.
Torch's Take
"We've been looking forward to this weekend for some time and the opportunity to host Pepperdine, the defending national champs," Torricelli said. "Having our former assistant, Adam Steinberg, back at NU is always fun and exciting. We're so proud of what he's accomplished and honored to host the Waves. An added bonus is that our assistant, Nick Carless, was with Adam last year and he can't wait until Sunday.
"However, there is no way we will look past Ball State on Friday night," Torricelli said. "It is always one of the most important matches we play and each has been a battle. Bill Richards is among the best coaches in the country and has them in the NCAA's virtually every season. For that reason, it's an extremely important match for us both regionally and in terms of national ranking. The Cardinals are historically strong in doubles and I cannot remember the last time we won the doubles point from them."
Follow Matches From Your Computer!
Live results will be provided for every home match held indoors at the Combe Tennis Center. Live Stats can be found under the match name on the front page of NUsports.com or at this link: Tennis Live Stats.
Northwestern Notes
The 'Cats split their opening weekend against DePaul and No. 29 Louisville. NU topped DePaul, 6-1, and their match against the 29th-ranked Cardinals came down to the final match. Louisville captured a third-set tiebreaker in the final match to take the 4-3 win.
Two Wildcats went undefeated in singles last weekend. Matt Christian (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice) won both his matches at No. 3 singles and freshman Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) took one match at No. 5 singles and another at No. 6. The doubles team of Christian Tempke (Wentorf, Germany/Gymnasium LohbrÜgge) and Juan Gomez (Mexico City, Mexico) went 2-0 as well.
The ITA released its regional rankings on December 8, 2006 and two Wildcats appear in the Midwest singles top-30. Tempke is No. 19 and senior Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) sits at No. 30. In doubles, the pair of Lock and Christian are the sixth-ranked tandem in the region. They are the nation's 27th-ranked doubles team.