BRADENTON, Fla. - Northwestern men's tennis concluded their season on Sunday in Florida as they fell 4-2 to No. 59 Santa Clara in the first round of the UTR NIT Championship at IMG Academy.
The 'Cats will wrap up their season with a final record of 10-19, including a 3-6 conference mark and a 1-2 record in postseason play.
Sunday's match began with a pair of doubles victories for the Broncos (19-7). Felix Nordby and Gleb Blekher fell 4-6 on court one, then Nick Herdoiza and Jackson Caldwell conceded a 3-6 defeat at #3 doubles. Greyson Casey and Presley Thieneman, up 6-5 on their opponents, saw their match go unfinished.
Santa Clara also picked up the first victory of singles play, increasing their lead to 2-0 with a win on court six. The 'Cats' first breakthrough came at singles #5, where Max Bengtsson wrapped up a 6-2, 6-3 victory in straight sets. For Bengtsson, it was his fourth singles victory of the season and his second in the last two weeks.
Northwestern pulled even midway through singles with an upset on court #1. Thieneman defeated No. 115 Christian Lerby 6-4, 6-2 to tie the match up at 2-2.
The final three courts all proved close matches as Blekher, Saiprakash Goli and Nordby all battled. Goli fell 3-6 in the first set, then pulled nearly even in the second, forcing his opponent to an extra game before ultimately falling 5-7 to put the Broncos up 3-2. Blekher won his first set 6-1, then dropped each of the next two, 4-6 and 1-6, to give Santa Clara match point. Nordby's match went unfinished in the second set. After winning the first 7-5, Nordby was up 5-4 in a second-set tiebreak when the deciding point was scored on another court.
The 'Cats entered NIT play ranked No. 70 by the ITA, with Blekher and Nordby ranked No. 45 in doubles. Final rankings for the 2023-24 season will be released later this month following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.
The 'Cats will wrap up their season with a final record of 10-19, including a 3-6 conference mark and a 1-2 record in postseason play.
Sunday's match began with a pair of doubles victories for the Broncos (19-7). Felix Nordby and Gleb Blekher fell 4-6 on court one, then Nick Herdoiza and Jackson Caldwell conceded a 3-6 defeat at #3 doubles. Greyson Casey and Presley Thieneman, up 6-5 on their opponents, saw their match go unfinished.
Santa Clara also picked up the first victory of singles play, increasing their lead to 2-0 with a win on court six. The 'Cats' first breakthrough came at singles #5, where Max Bengtsson wrapped up a 6-2, 6-3 victory in straight sets. For Bengtsson, it was his fourth singles victory of the season and his second in the last two weeks.
Northwestern pulled even midway through singles with an upset on court #1. Thieneman defeated No. 115 Christian Lerby 6-4, 6-2 to tie the match up at 2-2.
The final three courts all proved close matches as Blekher, Saiprakash Goli and Nordby all battled. Goli fell 3-6 in the first set, then pulled nearly even in the second, forcing his opponent to an extra game before ultimately falling 5-7 to put the Broncos up 3-2. Blekher won his first set 6-1, then dropped each of the next two, 4-6 and 1-6, to give Santa Clara match point. Nordby's match went unfinished in the second set. After winning the first 7-5, Nordby was up 5-4 in a second-set tiebreak when the deciding point was scored on another court.
The 'Cats entered NIT play ranked No. 70 by the ITA, with Blekher and Nordby ranked No. 45 in doubles. Final rankings for the 2023-24 season will be released later this month following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.