Men's Tennis Hosts Trio of Opponents to Open Dual Season

Saturday, January 17

Evanston, Ill.

12 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Vanderbilt

Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics

Men's Tennis Hosts Trio of Opponents to Open Dual Season

1/16/2026 6:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern Men's Tennis (0-0) opens its season by welcoming three teams into Combe Tennis Center over the weekend. The 'Cats take on Vanderbilt (2-0) on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. CT, then kick off a Sunday doubleheader against Louisville (2-0) at 12 p.m. CT. Northwestern concludes the weekend that evening against Youngstown State (0-0) at 7 p.m. CT.

Head Coach Arvid Swan's squad boasts six new players on the 2025-26 roster: first-years Cooper Han, Dylan Fayerman and Jacob Golden and transfers Dylan Charlap, Cyrus Mahjoob and Ethan Schiffman. Earlier this month, Mahjoob was named a Big Ten Player to Watch after opening the season in the ITA All-American Championship and reaching the round of 16 in the ITA Midwest Regional. All six players saw action during fall tournament season to open their Northwestern careers.

Going into Saturday's matchup, Vanderbilt is on a two-match win streak after defeating Tennessee State, 6-0, and Tennessee Tech, 7-0. The 'Cats are looking to earn their sixth victory against the Commodores as Vanderbilt holds a 9-5 all-time lead over Northwestern. Pablo Martinez Gomez leads this year's Commodores, coming in at No. 62 in the ITA's latest singles rankings after a 5-1 start to his season.

Before trekking to Evanston, Louisville will face off against Cornell on Friday evening, hoping to extend their season-opening win streak after sweeping a doubleheader against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. Cardinals doubles duo Matei Cristian Onofrei and Andre Steinbach are ones to watch, ranking No. 21 in November's ITA doubles rankings with their 6-2 fall record. Now, the pair has a 9-3 record. The Cardinals last ten matchups against the 'Cats have been split evenly, 5-5.

Finally, Northwestern closes out the weekend with its match against Youngstown State. The 'Cats have a short history with the Penguins. In their first matchup last spring, Northwestern took home a sweeping 4-0 victory.

Looking forward, Northwestern will face two more opponents in a doubleheader next weekend. The 'Cats will host IU Indy at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, January 24, before welcoming in Cleveland State at 5:30 p.m. CT that evening.