March 5, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern opens its conference slate on the road as it heads to No. 7 Illinois and Indiana for a pair of weekend duals. The Wildcats (11-2) square off against their toughest opponent of the season Friday evening when they take on the Illini (11-3, 1-0) at Atkins Tennis Center.
The 'Cats will face their quickest turnaround of the year as they must travel to IU Varsity Tennis Center in Bloomington, where they are set to face Indiana (7-7) Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
No. 7 Illinois is at its highest ranking of the season and boasts four players in the top-125 singles players. Sophomore Roy Kalmanovich, ranked No. 29, is 6-2 in duals this season. Three Illini doubles teams are ranked as well, led by the duo of Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse at No. 19.
Illinois holds a six-match win streak, coming off a weekend sweep of Northern Illinois and Saint Louis University. The Illini have also already captured a conference win with a 4-3 decision over Purdue on Feb. 27.
Illinois leads Northwestern, 54-37-3, in the all-time series.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
Last weekend, Indiana swept its doubleheader against Southern Illinois and Butler. Sophomore Lachlan Ferguson, ranked No. 116, leads the Hoosiers at No. 1 singles with a 7-5 record.
Seven of Indiana's 14 duals have come against ranked teams. The Hoosiers lead the 'Cats 37-35 in the all-time series and have won the last three meetings.
LAST TIME OUT
The `Cats rounded out the month of February with a road trip to Virginia to face William & Mary and Old Dominion. The `Cats dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to the Tribe, but bounced back to top the Monarchs to end February with a 6-2 record.
NU dropped just its second dual of the season to William & Mary, where it came down another third set of the final match where Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) fell to Marwan Ramadan at No. 2. Against Old Dominion,
Northwestern bounced back to snap the Monarchs' five-match win streak and leave Virginia with a win. The `Cats won yet another doubles point, their 12th in 13 matches, to jump to a 1-0 lead. Junior captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) clinched the victory for NU.