Jan. 16, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: Northwestern 6, Illinois-Chicago 1
Records: NU (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten), Illinois-Chicago (0-2, 0-0 Horizon League)
Next NU Event: Friday, Jan. 28 at Harvard Boston, Mass. 2 p.m. CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Unfazed by a trying first match against Ball State, No. 59 Northwestern came out energized against local foe Illinois-Chicago and defeated the Flames, 6-1, in the second match of a double-header to open the season Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center.
Head coach Arvid Swan saw his squad sweep all three doubles contests before seeing his No. 4, 5 and 6 singles players need barely an hour to account for three clinching singles wins and a 2-0 start to the season.
"I thought overall it was a strong start to the season, particularly in the second match against a solid UIC team," Swan said. "We had a nice comeback at No. 2 doubles tonight and we did well at the bottom half of the lineup even without Andrew (McCarthy). This was a good chance for us to see where we can improve in the next two weeks before going on the road to Harvard."
At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Sidarth Balaji and senior Andrew McCarthy held a 4-2 lead on Gautham Orsokar and Alan Reifer when the 'Cats came up with another key break, earning the chance to serve up 5-2. Balaji easily held his service game and Northwestern eventually went on to take the match, 8-2.
The Wildcats had similar success at No. 1 where the tandem of Joshua Graves and Spencer Wolf won the first five games, but UIC's Scott Shepardson and Luiz Gonzaga managed a hold and break to climb within 5-2. But NU broke back and held in Graves' next service game to go up 7-2 before closing it out, 8-2.
Northwestern's Raleigh Smith and Tobias Reitz fell behind 4-2 at No. 2 to Alex Raa and Rahul Kamath, but the 'Cats broke serve and Smith finished off his ensuing service game with an ace to level the score at four. NU kept things rolling, winning a total of six consecutive games to end the match at a score of 8-4 and wrap up NU's doubles sweep.
In singles, it was Northwestern's two alums of Gulliver Prep High School in Miami who led the way, with freshman Raleigh Smith and sophomore Chris Jackman each posting clean sheets, 6-0, in first sets at No. 5 and 6, respectively. Their 6-1 scores in the second sets mirrored each others' as well as they completed their respective matches against Nicolas Ospina and Camilo Giraldo within minutes of one another.
Despite playing a full three-setter in NU's afternoon match against Ball State, Tobias Reitz came out on fire against Alan Reifer at No. 4 singles, claiming the first set 6-2. Reitz remained aggressive in the second, finishing the match with a huge forehand past Reifer for his second win of the day.
Graves was next off the courts for NU following his efficient 6-1, 6-2 victory over Luiz Gonzaga, finishing off a perfect 4-0 day playing No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Trailing 2-1 in the opening set to UIC freshman James Li, Spencer Wolf rebounded to take five games in a row to win the set, 6-2. He trailed 4-1 in the second, however, and could not make up the deficit, losing the set 6-3 to send the match to a third-set breaker. Wolf maintained control throughout that deciding session, taking it by a 10-6 score.
At No. 2 singles, Sidarth Balaji could not protect his 4-2 first-set lead on Alexander Raa, who evened things up at four and managed to take the first set, 6-2. In the second, Balaji again led 4-2 but this time made it 5-2 with a remarkable over-the-head backhand that landed just inside the baseline.
The match would be decided by a third-set tiebreaker, where Balaji sped to a 6-1 lead. Raa answered with a rally of his own to tie the score at six. Balaji would soon earn a match point up 9-8, but Raa won back-to-back points for his own match point. Balaji managed to stave off two match points but eventually succumbed, 13-11, in the breaker.
With no matches scheduled for next weekend, Northwestern returns to competition on Friday, Jan. 28, at Harvard.
No. 59 Northwestern 6, Illinois-Chicago 1
Singles:
1: Joshua Graves (NU) def. Luiz Gonzaga (UIC), 6-1, 6-2
2: Alexander Raa (UIC) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU), 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (13-11)
3: Spencer Wolf (NU) def. James Li (UIC), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
4: Tobias Reitz (NU) def. Alan Reifer (UIC), 6-2, 6-1
5: Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Nicolas Ospina (UIC), 6-0, 6-1
6: Chris Jackman (NU) def. Camilo Giraldo (UIC), 6-0, 6-1
Doubles:
1: Graves/Wolf (NU) def. Shepardson/Gonzaga (UIC), 8-2
2: Reitz/Smith (NU) def. Kamath/Raa (UIC), 8-4
3: McCarthy/Balaji (NU) def. Oroskar/Reifer (UIC), 8-2
Order of Finish
Singles: (6, 5, 4*, 1, 2, 3)
Doubles: (3, 1*, 2)
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!