Northwestern took a quick advantage in doubles play with an 8-1 manhandling at No. 3 courtesy of Graves and Schanerman. However, Senior Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and freshman Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) were bested 8-3 on the No. 2 doubles court. The doubles point came down to NU sophomore Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachenwaldschule Reinbeck) and junior Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill). Although Illinois was able to take the first three sets in the match, the 'Cats answered with three straight sets of their own. After trading points to the 5-5 mark, Northwestern was able to break serve and hold their own in route to a 7-5 score. However, Illinois would not go away, and pushed the game to 8-8 and the day's first tie break. The Illini jumped to a quick 2-0 lead, and this time they would not relinquish the top spot, winning the tie break 7-3 and securing the doubles point.
The Wildcats would not be intimidated, though. Facing three ranked opponents on the singles court, the 'Cats fought courageously the entire night. Wolf was matched against the nations 43rd-ranked singles player, Dennis Nevolo, and was unable to hold off the talented sophomore. The No. 5 singles court was the next to call it a day, as Sanborn also fell at the hands of the Illini.
Down 3-0, Northwestern was in desperate need of a victory. That's when Schanerman put the final nail in the coffin on the No. 6 singles court; after breezing through the first game 6-1, Schanerman dropped the second, but was able to grab a 6-2 win in the third set. Schanerman is now on a four-match win streak in solo play, and boasts a 5-0 record at No. 6 singles for the season.
It appeared the Balaji could be out for the count at No. 4 singles, but the freshman would not pack it in. After losing the first set 6-3, Balaji faced a daunting task in the second set: down 6-5, he had to break serve to stay alive. Not only did the freshman come away with a break point to tie the set at 6-6, he was able to hold his own serve and eventually win the match in a 7-3 tie break. Riding this momentum, Balaji earned the Wildcat's second point of the night with a 6-4 win in the final set.
Unfortunately, the match was already decided by this point. Although McCarthy never gave up against No. 66 Abe Souza, the talented Illini junior was able to take the match in the third set. McCarthy never appeared over-powered, though, as he pushed the first set to 6-4, and won the second by the same score.
Even though the match was already in the books, the atmosphere remained charged on the No. 1 singles court between Graves and No. 106 Marek Czerwinski. The pair seemed to go point for point the entire night, as their first two sets went to the tie breaker. Graves was able to take the first set 7-6 after winning the tie breaker 7-3, but lost a very close 8-6 tie breaker in the second set. In the match tie break, both players celebrated every shot, as the match moved from one tie to the next. Eventually, at 14-13, Graves was unable to return a Czerwinski shot, as the Illini took No. 1 singles and the fifth point of the night.
The Wildcats move to 7-4 on the season and 0-1 in the conference, while Illinois goes to 7-5 and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Northwestern has a quick turnaround as they are back in action at home tomorrow at 3 p.m. against the Louisville Cardinals. It's Greek Day at Combe Tennis Center; the sorority with the best attendance will win a free tennis clinic led by the men's tennis program.
No. 12 Illinois 5, No. 34 Northwestern 2
Singles
Final Stats
1. No. 106 Marek Czerwinski (I) def. Joshua Graves (N), 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6), 15-13
2. No. 43 Dennis Nevolo (I) def. Spencer Wolf (N), 6-2, 6-1
3. No. 66 Abe Souza (I) def. Andrew McCarthy (N), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
4. Sidarth Balaji (N) def. Johnny Hamui (I), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
5. Stephen Hoh (I) def. Alex Sanborn (N), 6-2, 6-3
6. Mark Schanerman (N) def. Connor Roth (I), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles
1. No. 49 Czerwinski/Hoh (I) def. Reitz/McCarthy (N), 9-8 (7-3)
2. No. 38 Hamui/Nevolo (I) def. Sanborn/Wolf (N), 8-3
3. Graves/Schanerman (N) def. Roth/Souza (I), 8-1
Order of Finish
Singles: (2,5,6,3,4,1)
Doubles: (3,2,1)