April 3, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: Northwestern 4, Penn State 3
Records: NU (10-8, 1-3 Big Ten), Penn State (10-11. 0-4 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Friday, April 8 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 2 p.m. CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Determined to earn its first Big Ten win this season, an emotionally charged Northwestern team outlasted Penn State in a 4-3 barnburner at the Combe Tennis Center on Sunday. The back-and-forth match, which lasted for more than four hours, ultimately was swayed in NU's favor when sophomore Sidarth Balaji bested PSU's Bryan Welnetz in a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 decision at No. 3 singles.
"I give credit to the players on both teams for the way they competed, everyone out here really left everything they had on the courts," said head coach Arvid Swan. "I'm happy for Sid (Balaji) to be able to come back to the lineup and contribute the way he did today. All of our guys were out there fighting for the guy next to them."
Doubles play was an early indicator of the close match that would play out over the next four hours, with the Wildcats pulling out tight matches at the No. 1 and 3 lines. First off the courts, however, was NU's No. 2 doubles team, Andrew McCarthy and Tobias Reitz, who kicked things off with an impressive 8-2 win over Penn State's Jason Lee and Chris Hasyn.
Joshua Graves and Spencer Wolf followed their lead, clinching the first team point for the 'Cats in a tough 8-6 battle against Penn State's No. 1 team of Eddie Bourchier and Russell Bader. That doubles victory gave Graves and Wolf a team-best 13 on the season.
NU's No. 3 duo of Chris Jackman and Raleigh Smith rounded out the doubles portion with an incredibly close match, surviving Bryan Welnetz and Chris Young, 8-7 (7-3) to give the 'Cats a sweep. The win moved Jackman and Smith to a strong 9-4 record on the year.
With the first team point in hand, Northwestern transitioned to singles with some momentum. Chris Jackman, a last-minute addition to the lineup, gave the Wildcats their second point with an impressive, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Chris Young at the No. 6 spot.
Things became quite interesting though as Northwestern dropped the No. 4 and No. 2 singles lines consecutively. Tobias Reitz fell to Russell Bader, 6-4, 6-4, in a grueling match, and Spencer Wolf lost to Jason Lee in the same fashion, 6-3, 6-4.
With the team score tied 2-2, freshman Raleigh Smith gave NU a distinct advantage with a remarkable, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over the Nittany Lions' No. 5 Christopher Hasyn. Smith and Hasyn went back and forth the entire match, neither ever leading by more than two games until Smith rattled off five out of six to close out the second set and give NU a 3-2 lead.
Perhaps the performance of the day, however, came with the battle at the No. 3 spot between Balaji and Welnetz. Balaji, who has worked his way back from injury and was making only his fifth appearance on the season, won the first set with ease, 6-3. But Welnetz came back with a run of his own to take the second set, 6-3.
The final set tested both players as it went to a tiebreaker at 6-6. The two went back and forth in the breaker until Balaji opened up and won four straight points to finally put Welnetz away, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4). Balaji's win secured the fourth team point for Northwestern, giving the 'Cats their first Big Ten win on the season and their second straight over Penn State.
The last match to end also found the third set as Northwestern's Joshua Graves and Penn State's Eddie Bourchier went toe to toe at the No. 1 spot. Graves won the first set, 7-5 with some incredible serves, including two aces. But Bourchier came back to hold off Graves' drive and claimed the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Next up for the 'Cats is a four-match road swing beginning with Iowa on Friday, April 8.
Northwestern 4, Penn State 3
Singles:
1: Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. #119 Joshua Graves (NU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2: Jason Lee (PSU) def. Spencer Wolf (NU), 6-3, 6-4
3: Sidarth Balaji (NU) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
4: Russell Bader (PSU) def. Tobias Reitz (NU), 6-4, 6-4
5: Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Christopher Hasyn (PSU), 7-6 (4), 6-4
6: Chris Jackman (NU) def. Chris Young (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles:
1: Graves/Wolf (NU) def. Bourchier/Bader (PSU) 8-6
2: McCarthy/Reitz (NU) def. Lee/Hasyn (PSU), 8-2
3: Jackman/Smith (NU) def. Welnetz/Young (PSU), 8-7 (3)
Order of Finish:
Singles (6, 4, 2, 5, 3*, 1)
Doubles (2, 1*, 3)
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