 |
#11 Ohio State 5, #19 Northwestern 2 Combe Tennis Center Evanston, Ill. Results | Results 
|
|
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 19 Northwestern put a scare into No. 11 Ohio State's long Big Ten regular-season winning streak, but the Wildcats came up just short as they fell 5-2 Friday evening at Combe Tennis Center.
OSU came into the match having won 96 consecutive matches during the conference season, but Northwestern put a big scare into the Buckeyes.
Sporting a winning streak that has lasted 10-plus seasons, the Buckeyes' potent lineup featured all three of their teams having national rankings. However, the Wildcats played toe-to-toe with Ohio State through the early stages of each match.
The visitors capitalized on break-point opportunities at Nos. 1 and 2 to jump out in front in those matches. The contest at No. 2 was the first to finish as the 55th-ranked duo of Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz topped Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer, 8-4.
The matchup at No. 3 was a back-and-forth affair as both teams held serve throughout. Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar gave the 74th-ranked team of Herkko Pollanen and Mikael Torpegaard everything they could handle before eventually falling in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (5).
Ohio State captured the first set in four of the six singles matches, but 92nd-ranked Sam Shropshire got off to a good start as he took his opening set from 32nd-ranked Torpegaard, 6-3.
Konrad Zieba also got off on the right foot as he won his first set with No. 116 Pollanen but the same score. NU nearly earned a split of the opening sets with the Buckeyes, but Fedor Baev was edged, 7-5, in a tiebreaker with Kevin Metka at No. 5.
Ohio State pushed its lead in the match to 2-0 by virtue of a 6-0, 6-1 victory by 44th-ranked Chris Diaz at the No. 2 position. Another win by the Buckeyes at No. 6, a 6-0, 6-3 triumph by 83rd-ranked Ralf Steinbach make it 3-0 OSU, but the 'Cats weren't about to go away.
Shropshire completed his upset win by taking the second set in a tiebreaker to earn a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win and get the Wildcats on the board. All three remaining matches were very much up in the air as Baev and Logan Staggs both fought off match points to force a second-set tiebreaker that both needed to win to force a decisive third set.
Baev did his part, winning his tiebreaker by a 7-5 score. With Zieba up in the third set in his match, NU needed the tiebreak win at No. 4, but Staggs came up just short (7-5) despite fighting valiantly.
Baev would eventually drop his hard-fought battle in a third-set superbreaker, while Zieba outlasted Pollanen for a grueling 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5) victory.
Northwestern returns to action Sunday when it hosts a pair of matches at Combe Tennis Center. The Wildcats take on No. 50 Penn State at noon before facing IUPUI at 6:30 p.m.
#11 Ohio State 5, #19 Northwestern 2
Doubles
1. #5 Kevin Metka / Ralf Steinbach (OSU) led #69 Sam Shropshire / Alex Pasareanu (NU), 7-5 (unfinished)
2. #55 Hunter Callahan / Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Fedor Baev / Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 8-4
3. #74 Herkko Pollanen / Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. Alp Horoz / Mihir Kumar (NU), 8-7 (5)
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Singles
1. #92 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #32 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU) def. #124 Strong Kirchheimer (NU), 6-0, 6-1
3. Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #116 Herkko Pollanen (OSU), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5)
4. Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Logan Staggs (NU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 1-0 (7)
6. #83 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 4*, 5, 3
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for 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!