Feb. 1, 2015

	#11 Duke 5, #30 Northwestern 2  Combe Tennis Center • Evanston, Ill. Results

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The 'Cats captured a tough doubles point, and Sam Shropshire beat 36th-ranked Jason Tahir in No. 30 Northwestern's morning match-up against No. 11 Duke. However, the Blue Devils proved strong in singles to win 5-2 over the Wildcats.

Doubles play was a thrilling affair. Duke struck first at No. 3, where Chris Mengel and Bruno Semenzato topped Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar 6-2. Yet doubles play was far from over as close competition raged on the two other courts.

At No. 2, Alex Pasareanu held serve with an ace to pull him and Sam Shropshire ahead 6-5. They then followed with the critical break to prevail 7-5 over Jason Tahir and Josh Levine.

Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev at No. 1 also claimed a key break to tie their match 5-5. They then traded games to force what became a marathon tiebreaker. Fueled by the home crowd, the Wildcat duo outlasted Raphael Hemmeler and Nicolas Alvarez to win 7-6 (12-10) and put NU up 1-0.

Duke soon showed its strength in singles however, and tied the match one-all when 103rd-ranked Hemmeler bested Logan Staggs 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3. The Blue Devils then took the lead as No. 112 Semenzato beat Kumar 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4.

No. 18 Alvarez added another point for Duke at No. 2, where the top-20 Blue Devil took down No. 118 Kirchheimer 6-4, 6-2.

With their backs against the wall, the 'Cats needed a win. In a tension-filled second set, Shropshire delivered with a clutch 6-1, 7-6 (13-11) triumph over 36th-ranked Tahir at No. 1 to keep NU in the match. This marks Shropshire's most significant victory over a ranked opponent this season.

The deciding matches at No. 5 and No. 6 pressed to three sets. In the end, Levine rallied from a first-set deficit to beat Horoz 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 and seal Duke's victory. Mengel then topped Baev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to finish the afternoon.

Now 2-4 on the season, Northwestern concludes its weekend slate tonight with a 6 p.m. home match against UIC.

#11 Duke 5, #30 Northwestern 2
Doubles Results
1. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Raphael Hemmeler/Nicolas Alvarez (DUKE) 7-6 (12-10)
2. Alex Pasareanu/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Jason Tahir/Josh Levine (DUKE) 7-5
3. Chris Mengel/Bruno Semenzato (DUKE) def. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*

Singles Results
1. Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #36 Jason Tahir 6-1, 7-6 (13-11)
2. #18 Nicolas Alvarez (DUKE) def. #108 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-4, 6-2
3. #103 Raphael Hemmeler (DUKE) def. Logan Staggs (NU) 6-1, 6-4
4. #112 Bruno Semenzato (DUKE) def. Mihir Kumar (NU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Chris Mengel (DUKE) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Josh Levine (DUKE) def. Alp Horoz (NU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 6*, 5

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