Northwestern
Depaul
Men's Tennis Defeats DePaul, Moves to 3-0
1/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 25, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Spurred on by enthusiastic fans, including one in a panda costume, the Northwestern men's tennis team defeated DePaul, 6-1, at the Combe Tennis Center Friday night.
The Wildcats (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) won the doubles competition and all but one singles match. At the No. 1 position, senior Ryan Edlefsen (Eden Prairie, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson) fell to Jevgenij Cariov, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.
Many Northwestern students were on hand to support the team, making for a boisterous Friday night crowd.
"Tennis is such an individual sport, usually when you're out there, you feel alone. When all your friends show up to support you, it's like an army," said senior captain Jamie Sahara (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph). "The fan support empowers you to play harder, to compete harder."
Sahara used that momentum to defeat Andy Michael in the No. 2 position by a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3). Their match was the last to finish.
Junior Josh Axler (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) picked up another victory, this time over Dan Bennett in the No. 5 position, 6-1, 6-3. The win extends Axler's consecutive dual match winning streak to 12.
"The first three matches were the toughest," Torricelli said. "They were very, very hard fought, despite the score. We had to work for everything from one through five, and the doubles were a toss up."
Torricelli also said he recognized the panda immediately. "It's a tradition," he joked after the match. "Sigma Chi always has someone who dresses up. It's the Sigma Chi seventh-man."
On a more serious note, Torricelli was happy for the stiff competition from DePaul. "This is a good test before the beginning of the Big Ten season next weekend," he said.
The Wildcats take on Purdue next Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. as part of the Grand Opening weekend of the Combe Tennis Center.
Northwestern 6, DePaul 1
Doubles
1. Hanus/Jenkins, NU def. Michael/Kurek, 8-3
2. Cariov/Bennett, DePaul def. Edlefsen/Bennett, 8-6
3. Perrin/Wahla, NU def. Pitch/Davidson, 8-6
Singles
1. Jevgenij Cariov def. Ryan Edlefsen, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Jamie Sahara def. Andy Michael, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)
3. Tommy Hanus def. Robert Kurek, 7-6(7), 1-6, 6-1
4. Josh Axler def. Dan Bennett, 6-1, 6-3
5. Chuck Perrin def. Neil Johnston, 7-5, 7-5
6. Ahmed Wahla def. Sam Davidson, 6-0, 6-2
