Saturday, February 18
Charlottesville, Va.
8 a.m.
Northwestern
3
vs
4
Oklahoma
No. 7 Northwestern Falls in Tiebreak to No. 14 Oklahoma
2/18/2017 11:39:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Saturday's match between No. 7 Northwestern and No. 14 Oklahoma could not have been any more exciting, coming down to a third-set tiebreaker at the No. 6 spot, but the Sooners came away with the dramatic win at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
With the team score tied at three, the deciding match came down to Jason Seidman at No. 6. He took the first set from Jochen Bertsch in a 7-6 tiebreak, but Bertsch came back and won the second frame, 6-3. Seidman led 3-1 in the third, but Bertsch worked his way back and tied things up at four. The two then traded points on serve, until they reached the tiebreak at six-all, where the Sooner came away with the decisive victory.
Northwestern is now 10-2 on the year after back-to-back close losses to No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Oklahoma. The Wildcats have one more match at the ITA Indoors tomorrow.
Oklahoma got the match started with the doubles point. Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý had their nine-match winning streak snapped at No. 2 by Alex Ghilea and Florin Bragusi, 6-2. The Wildcats' team at No. 3 was switched up for Saturday's match with Ben Vandixhorn joining Chris Ephron. That duo dropped a 6-4 decision that clinched the point for the Sooners.
Vandixhorn then bounced back in singles and got the Wildcats on the board with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 5. He was followed by Konrad Zieba, who won in straight sets over No. 24 Spencer Papa at No. 2. Zieba improved to 12-4 with his 10th straight win. He shut out the 24th-ranked player in the country in the second set, 6-0.
Oklahoma got a pair of wins at Nos. 4 and 3 to regain the lead.
Strong Kirchheimer, the No. 25 player in the country, took it to No. 29 Andrew Harris in the third set at No. 1 to cap off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win that knotted the team score up at three. Kirchheimer picked up his team-leading 16th win of the year.
Bertsch then got the nail-biting win over Seidman to put Oklahoma over the top.
Chicago's Big Ten Team finishes things up at the ITA Indoors tomorrow when it faces either No. 6 Florida or No. 16 Mississippi State at 8 a.m. CT.
#14 Oklahoma 4, #7 Northwestern 3
Singles
No. 1 – #25 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #29 Andrew Harris (OU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU), 7-6, 6-0
No. 3 – Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 7-5, 7-6
No. 4 – #105 Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Dominik Starý (NU), 7-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. A.J. Chamdani (OU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 – Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Jason Seidman (NU), 6-7, 6-3, 7-6*
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6*
Doubles
No. 1 – #53 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. #42 Andrew Harris / Spencer Papa (OU), 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Alex Ghilea / Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU), 6-2
No. 3 – A.J. Chamdani / Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. Ben Vandixhorn / Chris Ephron (NU), 6-4*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
With the team score tied at three, the deciding match came down to Jason Seidman at No. 6. He took the first set from Jochen Bertsch in a 7-6 tiebreak, but Bertsch came back and won the second frame, 6-3. Seidman led 3-1 in the third, but Bertsch worked his way back and tied things up at four. The two then traded points on serve, until they reached the tiebreak at six-all, where the Sooner came away with the decisive victory.
Northwestern is now 10-2 on the year after back-to-back close losses to No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Oklahoma. The Wildcats have one more match at the ITA Indoors tomorrow.
Oklahoma got the match started with the doubles point. Strong Kirchheimer and Dominik Starý had their nine-match winning streak snapped at No. 2 by Alex Ghilea and Florin Bragusi, 6-2. The Wildcats' team at No. 3 was switched up for Saturday's match with Ben Vandixhorn joining Chris Ephron. That duo dropped a 6-4 decision that clinched the point for the Sooners.
Vandixhorn then bounced back in singles and got the Wildcats on the board with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 5. He was followed by Konrad Zieba, who won in straight sets over No. 24 Spencer Papa at No. 2. Zieba improved to 12-4 with his 10th straight win. He shut out the 24th-ranked player in the country in the second set, 6-0.
Oklahoma got a pair of wins at Nos. 4 and 3 to regain the lead.
Strong Kirchheimer, the No. 25 player in the country, took it to No. 29 Andrew Harris in the third set at No. 1 to cap off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win that knotted the team score up at three. Kirchheimer picked up his team-leading 16th win of the year.
Bertsch then got the nail-biting win over Seidman to put Oklahoma over the top.
Chicago's Big Ten Team finishes things up at the ITA Indoors tomorrow when it faces either No. 6 Florida or No. 16 Mississippi State at 8 a.m. CT.
#14 Oklahoma 4, #7 Northwestern 3
Singles
No. 1 – #25 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #29 Andrew Harris (OU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 – Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU), 7-6, 6-0
No. 3 – Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Sam Shropshire (NU), 7-5, 7-6
No. 4 – #105 Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Dominik Starý (NU), 7-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. A.J. Chamdani (OU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 – Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Jason Seidman (NU), 6-7, 6-3, 7-6*
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6*
Doubles
No. 1 – #53 Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) vs. #42 Andrew Harris / Spencer Papa (OU), 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 2 – Alex Ghilea / Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Strong Kirchheimer / Dominik Starý (NU), 6-2
No. 3 – A.J. Chamdani / Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. Ben Vandixhorn / Chris Ephron (NU), 6-4*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
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