Feb. 8, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After a seven-match homestand to start the 2007 dual campaign, the Wildcats head to Cambridge, Mass. for a road contest against the Harvard Crimson at 5 p.m. Friday. The 'Cats are 4-3 with wins over No. 58 DePaul, Ball State, No. 48 San Diego and No. 47 Arkansas. They are 40th in the latest ITA rankings.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats came out on a mission and dominated the then 30th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks Friday night at the Combe Tennis Center, 7-0. The 'Cats captured the doubles point and won all six singles matches.
Although NU had the dual won, senior Willy Lock (Lima, Peru/Markham College) dazzled the crowd with a 13-11 win in a third-set "superbreaker" at No. 1 singles over Arkansas' 57th-ranked Blake Strode. The Wildcats had already won the dual and led 6-0 when Lock went to a third set with Blake Strode, but the senior played as if his match was the clincher. Lock took the first set, 6-4, but Strode won a second-set tiebreaker to force a 10-point tiebreaker to determine the winner. The senior fought off four match points with a healthy assortment of desperation shots and off-balance winners. He saved his fourth match point to even the score, 10-10. Lock had his own match point at 11-10, but could not convert. The Wildcat finally broke through with the score at 12-11 to take the third set and give the 'Cats the shutout.
Freshman Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) continued his solid start to the 2007 campaign, winning his match at No. 6 in straight-sets. The Wildcats' singles players lost only two sets in six matches.
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard will be playing its third match against a Big Ten opponent. The Crimson fell to both Michigan State and Michigan in road contests earlier this winter. Sophomore Chris Clayton plays No. 1 singles and is ranked 93rd in the nation. He has notched victories over MSU's Nick Rinks and No. 59 Brian Hung of Michigan. In doubles, the 44th-ranked pair of Dan Nguyen and Michael Hayes have played at No. 1 for the past two duals. They fell to ranked opponents from both Michigan and Michigan State last week.
Freaky Friday
All four of the 'Cats' wins this season have come in Friday night contests.