'Cats Win Sixth Straight with Triumph over No. 23 Columbia, 4-3

Results

Mar. 14, 2015

Northwestern #16 Northwestern 4, #23 Columbia 3
Combe Tennis Center • Evanston, Ill.
Results		 Columbia Stats

EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a wild tennis match Saturday afternoon, No. 16 Northwestern showed its characteristic resiliency in an exhilarating comeback win over No. 23 Columbia, 4-3.

The `Cats improve to 12-5 overall and 8-1 at home with its sixth straight victory.

Doubles play was quick but exciting, as all three matches ended within seconds of each other. In the pair's first match at No. 1, Sam Shropshire and Alex Pasareanu defeated No. 20 Ashok Narayana and Max Schnur 6-3.

Columbia's 57th ranked duo of Winston Lin and Mike Vermeer then beat Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer 6-3 at No. 2. However, Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz continued their dominating performance at No. 3 and clinched their ninth straight win. They overcame Dragos Ignat and Bert Vancura 6-3 to put the `Cats ahead 1-0.

Yet the Lions soon roared back in singles competition. Shawn Hadavi bested Horoz 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6, and 16th-ranked Lin topped 88th-ranked Shropshire 6-2, 6-3 on court 1.

Vermeer then took down Baev in a tight two-set battle at No. 5, prevailing 7-5, 6-4 to put Columbia on the cusp of the win.

Undaunted, the 'Cats fought back. In a tense, high-energy environment, NU's do-or-die contests pushed to three sets. At No. 3, Logan Staggs sparked the comeback with a claw-back 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory to capture NU's second point.

No. 107 Kirchheimer weathered a first frame loss as well but came back with two thrilling final sets. He ultimately defeated No. 83 Ignat 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) on the second court. His sixth consecutive singles win tied the score 3-3.

In the deciding contest at No. 4, Kumar engaged in close competition with Vancura. After dropping the second set, he bookended his match with two wins and triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to seal the 4-3 victory for Northwestern.

The Wildcats take a week off before traveling to Rice on Wednesday, Mar. 25 for a 5 p.m. contest.

#16 Northwestern 4, #23 Columbia 3
Doubles Results
1. Alex Pasareanu/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #20 Ashok Narayana/Max Schnur (COL) 6-3
2. #57 Winston Lin/Mike Vermeer (COL) def. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-3
3. Mihir Kumar/Alp Horoz (NU) def. Dragos Ignat/Bert Vancura (COL) 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*

Singles Results
1. #16 Winston Lin (COL) def. #88 Sam Shropshire (NU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #107 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #83 Dragos Ignat (COL) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3)
3. Logan Staggs (NU) def. Ashok Narayana (COL) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Mihir Kumar (NU) def. Bert Vancura (COL) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
5. Mike Vermeer (COL) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Shawn Hadavi (COL) def. Alp Horoz (NU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 1, 5, 3, 2, 4*

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