Northwestern University Athletics
Kirchheimer Wins ITA Midwest Region Title
10/24/2016 2:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Northwestern senior Strong Kirchheimer punched his ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships by winning the Midwest Region title on Monday.
Kirchheimer, the region's No. 2 seed, beat Michigan's Kevin Wong in straight sets in the championship match, 6-3, 6-0 to earn an automatic berth to the national tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. in two weeks.
"A great tournament by Strong this weekend," head coach Arvid Swan said. "He put in a lot of hard work and competed really well. This win is important because it allows Strong to represent Northwestern at the prestigious National Indoor Championships."
Kirchheimer won six matches over the weekend at the Midwest Regional, hosted by Ohio State. He won four of them in straight sets.
Earlier Monday he advanced to the title match by beating Ohio State's Herkko Pollanen, the No. 65 ranked player in the country, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Kirchheimer beat Wisconsin's Josef Dodridge in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 7-6. He also beat Michigan's Runhao Hua, Wisconsin's Osgar O'Hoisin and DePaul's Nathan de Veer on his march to the championship.
"It was good to win this tournament," Kirchheimer said. "That was my goal coming in. I did some things well, but I have a lot I can work on heading into the National Indoors."
A year after winning 30 matches during the regular season, Kirchheimer is already at six through just the first two weeks of the 2016-17 fall campaign.
Sophomore Michael Lorenzini also had a great tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals as an unseeded player, before falling to the eventual runner-up Wong. Lorenzini won three matches, highlighted by a first-round upset of No. 5 seed Jathan Malik of Michigan. He also beat No. 10 seed Kyle Seelig of Ohio State in the Round of 16.
Other Wildcats in action were Konrad Zieba, the tournament's top seed, who won his first two matches but was forced to withdraw in the Round of 16 and true freshman Dominik Stary, who won his first ever college match in the first round.
Zieba and Stary teamed up in doubles play, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals on the heels of two wins before falling to Malik and Wong of Michigan. Kirchheimer and freshman Brenden Volk were a tandem but had to withdraw in the Round of 32. The third Northwestern duo of Lorenzini and freshman Chris Ephron also advanced to the Round of 32.
The ITA National Indoor Championships begin Thursday, Nov. 3 and run through Sunday, Nov. 6. The Big Ten Singles and Doubles tournament will also be played that weekend in Madison, Wis.
Kirchheimer, the region's No. 2 seed, beat Michigan's Kevin Wong in straight sets in the championship match, 6-3, 6-0 to earn an automatic berth to the national tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. in two weeks.
"A great tournament by Strong this weekend," head coach Arvid Swan said. "He put in a lot of hard work and competed really well. This win is important because it allows Strong to represent Northwestern at the prestigious National Indoor Championships."
Kirchheimer won six matches over the weekend at the Midwest Regional, hosted by Ohio State. He won four of them in straight sets.
Earlier Monday he advanced to the title match by beating Ohio State's Herkko Pollanen, the No. 65 ranked player in the country, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Kirchheimer beat Wisconsin's Josef Dodridge in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 7-6. He also beat Michigan's Runhao Hua, Wisconsin's Osgar O'Hoisin and DePaul's Nathan de Veer on his march to the championship.
"It was good to win this tournament," Kirchheimer said. "That was my goal coming in. I did some things well, but I have a lot I can work on heading into the National Indoors."
A year after winning 30 matches during the regular season, Kirchheimer is already at six through just the first two weeks of the 2016-17 fall campaign.
Sophomore Michael Lorenzini also had a great tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals as an unseeded player, before falling to the eventual runner-up Wong. Lorenzini won three matches, highlighted by a first-round upset of No. 5 seed Jathan Malik of Michigan. He also beat No. 10 seed Kyle Seelig of Ohio State in the Round of 16.
Other Wildcats in action were Konrad Zieba, the tournament's top seed, who won his first two matches but was forced to withdraw in the Round of 16 and true freshman Dominik Stary, who won his first ever college match in the first round.
Zieba and Stary teamed up in doubles play, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals on the heels of two wins before falling to Malik and Wong of Michigan. Kirchheimer and freshman Brenden Volk were a tandem but had to withdraw in the Round of 32. The third Northwestern duo of Lorenzini and freshman Chris Ephron also advanced to the Round of 32.
The ITA National Indoor Championships begin Thursday, Nov. 3 and run through Sunday, Nov. 6. The Big Ten Singles and Doubles tournament will also be played that weekend in Madison, Wis.
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