Friday, April 22
Columbus, OH
6 p.m.
Northwestern
at
Ohio State
Wildcats Go For First Big Ten Title in 26 Years
4/21/2016 11:06:00 AM | Men's Tennis
| NORTHWESTERN MEN'S TENNIS: MATCH INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, April 22 |
#5 Ohio State | 5 p.m. CT | Columbus, Ohio | OhioStateBuckeyes.com | Live Scoring |
| Sunday, April 24 |
#39 Penn State | 11 a.m. CT | State College, Pa. | N/A | Live Scoring |
| Social: Twitter (@NUMensTennis) | Facebook | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern last won the Big Ten championship in 1990, but that could change with one match this weekend. The 14th-ranked Wildcats (23-2, 9-0) travel to Columbus, Ohio on Friday to take on No. 5 Ohio State (25-2, 9-0) at 5 p.m. CT.
The winner will clinch at least a share of the conference title with an outright championship dependent on Sunday's results.
Northwestern plays No. 39 Penn State on Sunday at 11 a.m. to wrap up the regular season.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats finished off a perfect 14-0 homestand with wins over No. 21 Michigan (4-1) and Michigan State (4-0) to continue their unbeaten play in the Big Ten. Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire both beat ranked opponents to help Northwestern to its top-25 win over Michigan.
Chicago's Big Ten Team tied the school record for wins in a season with its 23rd, which came last Sunday against the Spartans. The 1983 team also won 23 matches.
The Wildcats
Northwestern has defeated its previous eight opponents by a 32-2 margin. The Wildcats have three ranked singles players: Zieba (No. 16), Shropshire (No. 41) and Strong Kirchheimer (No. 78) and one ranked doubles team: Zieba/Shropshire (No. 88).
Kirchheimer, at 25-3, ranks second all-time at NU in single-season winning percentage. He and Fedor Baev, and Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz, have 17 doubles wins. That mark ranks seventh all-time for a single season.
Head coach Arvid Swan needs just two more wins to reach 150 for his Northwestern career.
Scouting Ohio State
Beating the Buckeyes for the conference crown will be no easy task. Ohio State has claimed 11 consecutive regular season titles and is in the midst of a 68-match conference home winning streak. OSU has 10 wins over top-25 teams this year and have won all nine of their conference matches by 4-0 shutout.
The Buckeyes top singles player Mikael Torpegaard is ranked No. 1 in the country with a perfect 18-0 dual record.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions (19-6, 5-4) are coming off a weekend split with Wisconsin and Minnesota. Penn State has not lost at home yet this year, playing to a 12-0 record in front of its home crowd. Sunday's match will be Senior Day.
History
The Wildcats and Buckeyes have been evenly matched over the years, with Ohio State holding a 48-43 advantage in the series. The Buckeyes have won 13 straight over Northwestern with the last NU win coming in 2005.
Chicago's Big Ten Team is 22-6 all-time vs. Penn State. Northwestern has won six of the last seven, including a 7-0 decision last season.
Next
The Big Ten Tournament will take place April 28-May 1 at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Northwestern has already secured a first-round bye and will seek to be the tournament's top seed with its play this weekend.
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