April 3, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern (14-6, 2-3) notched its second conference win of the season with a 4-3 decision at Purdue (6-11, 0-5) Friday afternoon. The 'Cats face a quick turnaround as they head home to face No. 24 Wisconsin (13-5, 2-2) Saturday afternoon. Play at Combe Tennis Center will begin following the conclusion of the women's match between No. 1 Northwestern and No. 3 Notre Dame.
The 'Cats took control from the get-go by taking the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The tandem of Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska – Independent Study H.S.) improved to 3-1 with their 8-4 defeat of Slavko Bijelica and Griff Nienberg at No. 1.
Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) and Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) clinched it for the 'Cats with an 8-5 win over Eric Ramos and Thomas Wilson.
The Wildcats and Boilermakers split the six singles matches with NU coming out on top at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 spots. Purdue tied it up 1-all when Branko Kuzmanovic posted a 6-0, 6-1 win over Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) at No. 2.
The Boilers then took a 2-1 lead after Bijelica defeated senior Dwyer at No. 1 with a 6-0, 6-4 score. Northwestern quickly evened the score thanks to captain Sanborn's effort at No. 5 singles. The junior Wildcat cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Roberto Cabrini.
The next match off the courts was at No. 3 where Alex Thams posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Eric Ramos. The Wildcat jumped up to an early 3-0 break in both sets and never relinquished his lead.
Freshman southpaw Josh Graves clinched the dual for the 'Cats with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of P.J. Rose at No. 4, snapping the Boilermaker senior's three-match win streak.
Freshman Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) narrowly lost a bid to continue his four-match win streak with a loss at No. 6 to Wilson. The Wildcat was down a break in the first set and fought back to force a tiebreak, but fell in the breaker, 11-9. After a dominating 6-1 second set win by Spector, the match was sent into an epic match tiebreak that decided the match in the Boilermaker's favor, 14-12.
Northwestern returns to action Saturday afternoon against No. 24 Wisconsin at Combe Tennis Center. Both teams look for their third conference win following the conclusion of the women's match between No. 1 Northwestern and No. 3 Notre Dame.
Northwestern 4, Purdue 3
Doubles:
1. Marc Dwyer/Alex Sanborn (NU) def. Slavko Bijelica/Griff Nienberg (PUR) 8-4
2. Branko Kuzmanovic/P.J. Rose (PUR) def. Tobias Reitz/Joshua Graves (NU) 8-5
3. Andrew McCarthy/Alexander Thams (NU) def. Eric Ramos/Thomas Wilson (PUR) 8-5
Singles:
1. Slavko Bijelica (PUR) def. Marc Dwyer (NU) 6-0, 6-4
2. Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) def. Tobias Reitz (NU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Alexander Thams (NU) def. Eric Ramos (PUR) 6-4, 6-4
4. Joshua Graves (NU) def. P.J. Rose (PUR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Alex Sanborn (NU) def. Roberto Cabrini (PUR) 6-1, 6-2
6. Thomas Wilson (PUR) def. Eric Spector (NU) 7-6 (11-9), 1-6, 1-0 (14-12)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,5,3,4,6)