Feb. 27, 2012
No. 57 Northwestern (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) at No. 34 Louisville (8-4, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Wednesday, February 29
Bass-Ruud Tennis Center
Louisville, Ky. 4 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After dropping a tough contest at Combe Tennis Center Saturday, the Northwestern Wildcats will hit the road for a rare midweek match against another formidable foe in No. 34 Louisville at the Bass-Ruud Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.
No. 57 Northwestern (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) fell at home to No. 48 North Carolina State in a match that was much closer than the final score indicated. The Wolfpack secured the doubles point with victories on the first and second lines before the 'Cats forced four of the six singles matches to the brink. Unfortunately, NU found itself on the wrong end of all four bouts.
The pairing of Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) and Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) provided the lone success for the 'Cats Saturday. The duo teamed up at No. 3 doubles to defeat NC State's Jaime Pulgar and Robbie Mudge, 8-6.
Louisville has won four consecutive matches including a 4-3 triumph against No. 41 Wake Forest on Saturday. The Cardinals won the point and posted victories at the number one, four and five singles spots. Freshman Albert Wagner clinched the match-winning point for Louisville with his straight-set win at No. 4.
Wednesday's tilt marks the fourth and final nonconference road match that the Wildcats will play this season. Head coach Arvid Swan's squad has performed well in enemy territory in 2012. The 'Cats opened the spring campaign with an upset win in Tuscaloosa, Ala. over No. 51 Alabama on Jan. 20. The success continued with 6-1 beating of Middle Tennessee State on Feb. 10 in Nashville, Tenn. Northwestern's lone loss on the road this season came two days later at the hands of No. 43 Vanderbilt, 4-3.
Louisville leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 4-3. The 'Cats dropped the last contest on March 7, 2010, 5-2, in Evanston. Northwestern's last win in the series came on Feb. 16, 2002 when the Wildcats won 5-2 at the Great Northwest Shootout in Seattle, Wash.
The 'Cats and Cards share four common opponents this season in Notre Dame, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State. NU is 0-1 this year against that group, while Louisville has gone 1-2. UL is 7-1 at Baas-Ruud Tennis Center with its only loss coming against the third ranked OSU Buckeyes on Feb. 9.
The first serve Wednesday is scheduled for 4 p.m. Northwestern will return home on Sunday, March 4 for its final nonconference match of the slate against Denver at 11 a.m. Big Ten play opens Friday, March 9 at home against Illinois.
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