Friday, April 22
Columbus, OH
6 p.m.
Northwestern
0
at
4
Ohio State
No. 14 Northwestern Drops First Conference Match
4/22/2016 7:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Box Score | Season Stats
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Northwestern dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 5 Ohio State Friday evening in a match that guaranteed the winner at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
Despite the shutout, the 14th-ranked Wildcats (23-3, 9-1) were in the third set in two of the remaining matches and held a second set lead in the other versus the Buckeyes (26-2, 10-0). The loss snapped a dominant nine-match winning streak, in which Northwestern outscored its opponents, 36-4.
Chicago's Big Ten Team can still earn a share of the conference title with a win at No. 39 Penn State on Sunday and an Ohio State loss to No. 15 Illinois.
The Buckeyes got on the board first with the doubles point. OSU secured wins at Nos. 1 and 2 with No. 20 Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen clinching the point at No. 1 with a 6-4 win over Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev. At No. 2, the 31st-ranked duo of Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce beat No. 88 Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba, 6-2. Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz held a 5-2 lead at No. 3, but their match went unfinished before they could get the victory.
Ohio State then stretched its lead out to 3-0 with wins at No. 4 and No. 6 before the No. 1 ranked player in the country, Torpegaard, clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 over No. 16 Zieba.
Ben Vandixhorn was tied 2-2 in the third set of his match at No. 5, and Kirchheimer trailed 3-2 in the third at No. 3 when their matches went unfinished. Kirchheimer was looking for a marquee win over No. 37 Hugo Di Feo, but he holds onto his 25-3 record going into the final regular season match against Penn State. Shropshire held a 6-5 lead in the second set at No. 2 when his match went unfinished.
The Wildcats' season finale versus Penn State begins at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday. Illinois and Ohio State play at the same time and updates for both matches can be found by following @NUMensTennis on Twitter.
The Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday, April 28 in Minneapolis, Minn. Northwestern is guaranteed a top-three seed and a first-round bye.
#5 Ohio State 4, #14 Northwestern 0
Singles
No. 1 – #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #16 Konrad Zieba (NU), 7-5, 6-4*
No. 2 – #41 Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. #93 Chris Diaz (OSU), 2-6, 6-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 – #78 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. #37 Hugo Di Feo (OSU), 6-2, 1-6, 2-3 (unfinished)
No. 4 – Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Martin Joyce (OSU), 2-6, 6-3, 2-2 (unfinished)
No. 6 – #90 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 1*
Doubles
No. 1 – #20 Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) def. Baev/Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4*
No. 2 – #31 Steinbach/Joyce (OSU) def. #88 Zieba/Shropshire (NU), 6-2
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) vs. Di Feo/Mendez (OSU), 5-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Northwestern dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 5 Ohio State Friday evening in a match that guaranteed the winner at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
Despite the shutout, the 14th-ranked Wildcats (23-3, 9-1) were in the third set in two of the remaining matches and held a second set lead in the other versus the Buckeyes (26-2, 10-0). The loss snapped a dominant nine-match winning streak, in which Northwestern outscored its opponents, 36-4.
Chicago's Big Ten Team can still earn a share of the conference title with a win at No. 39 Penn State on Sunday and an Ohio State loss to No. 15 Illinois.
The Buckeyes got on the board first with the doubles point. OSU secured wins at Nos. 1 and 2 with No. 20 Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen clinching the point at No. 1 with a 6-4 win over Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev. At No. 2, the 31st-ranked duo of Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce beat No. 88 Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba, 6-2. Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz held a 5-2 lead at No. 3, but their match went unfinished before they could get the victory.
Ohio State then stretched its lead out to 3-0 with wins at No. 4 and No. 6 before the No. 1 ranked player in the country, Torpegaard, clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 over No. 16 Zieba.
Ben Vandixhorn was tied 2-2 in the third set of his match at No. 5, and Kirchheimer trailed 3-2 in the third at No. 3 when their matches went unfinished. Kirchheimer was looking for a marquee win over No. 37 Hugo Di Feo, but he holds onto his 25-3 record going into the final regular season match against Penn State. Shropshire held a 6-5 lead in the second set at No. 2 when his match went unfinished.
The Wildcats' season finale versus Penn State begins at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday. Illinois and Ohio State play at the same time and updates for both matches can be found by following @NUMensTennis on Twitter.
The Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday, April 28 in Minneapolis, Minn. Northwestern is guaranteed a top-three seed and a first-round bye.
#5 Ohio State 4, #14 Northwestern 0
Singles
No. 1 – #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #16 Konrad Zieba (NU), 7-5, 6-4*
No. 2 – #41 Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. #93 Chris Diaz (OSU), 2-6, 6-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 – #78 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. #37 Hugo Di Feo (OSU), 6-2, 1-6, 2-3 (unfinished)
No. 4 – Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Fedor Baev (NU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Martin Joyce (OSU), 2-6, 6-3, 2-2 (unfinished)
No. 6 – #90 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Alp Horoz (NU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 1*
Doubles
No. 1 – #20 Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) def. Baev/Kirchheimer (NU), 6-4*
No. 2 – #31 Steinbach/Joyce (OSU) def. #88 Zieba/Shropshire (NU), 6-2
No. 3 – Horoz/Kumar (NU) vs. Di Feo/Mendez (OSU), 5-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
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