Feb. 3, 2010
2010 Northwestern Dual Statistics
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On the heels of its first trip to the ITA National Indoor Team Championship, No. 36 Northwestern (4-2) is set for a third consecutive road match when it travels to No. 49 Vanderbilt for a 1 p.m. match on Friday. Two days later, NU is back in Evanston to host No. 75 Western Michigan at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Wildcats, who started the season with a string of four straight wins that included an upset of No. 18 Alabama, seek a return to their winning ways after falling to a pair of highly ranked squads last weekend in No. 7 Georgia and No. 20 Miami (Fla.).
No live scoring is available for Friday's match at Vanderbilt, but Northwestern's live stats page for its home match vs. Western Michigan can be found by clicking here.
Last Time Out
Northwestern dropped its first-round match of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship to host No. 7 Georgia, 4-1, at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs improved their record home win streak to 64 matches dating to March, 2005. Sophomore Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) was Northwestern's lone winner against Georgia, posting a hard-fought come-from-behind win against Nate Schnugg at No. 1 singles (1-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10-8)). NU then faced Miami (Fla.) on Monday morning, losing a 4-0 decision to the Hurricanes to conclude its stay in the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.
Scouting the Commodores
Vanderbilt enters Friday's match coming off a win over Radford on Sunday following back-to-back losses to No. 1 Southern Cal and No. 41 Michigan. The Commodores are led by 29th-ranked singles player Ryan Lipman, who is 13-5 overall in singles play and 3-2 in dual matches. In doubles, the tandem of Vijay Paul and Bryant Salcedo is 4-0 in duals to extend their winning streak to seven consecutive matches.
Scouting the Broncos
Four-time defending MAC Tournament champion and newly-ranked Western Michigan is off to a stellar start in 2010 with a 5-0 record. The Broncos opened the season with a 5-2 win over 74th-ranked DePaul and last Saturday swept Dayton, IPFW and Valparaiso by 7-0 scores in the same day. Before arriving in Evanston, Western Michigan must first get past Green Bay and Illinois State in a doubleheader Friday in Kalamazoo. Michael Calderone is a combined 5-0 at No. 1 and 2 singles this season and is 8-2 in his last 10 matches.
Northwestern posted a 5-2 victory the last time these two squads met back on Feb. 21 of last year.