April 24, 2008

Results

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Northwestern saw an early exit from the Big Ten Championship Thursday after a 4-0 first-round loss to Indiana. The Wildcats finish the season 7-17 overall.

After putting up a strong fight, the Wildcats fell at all three doubles courts, giving Indiana a 1-0 match advantage. All three pairings hung around late in their matches, before ultimately falling, 8-5, in the first two. The third match at No. 1 went unfinished, with Indiana leading 7-5.

Northwestern went down 2-0 after sophomore captain Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) fell at No. 2, 6-2, 6-1. Sanborn, who will return to a leadership role next season, finishes the year at 11-13 in dual singles.

Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./Independent Study H.S.) fell 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1, giving Indiana a 3-0 match advantage. Dwyer, who led the team in Big Ten victories, also will return with his experience and leadership in the Wildcat lineup.

Indiana clinched the 4-0 match victory after freshman Peter Rispoli lost in straight sets at No. 4, 6-2, 6-1. The loss ends the Wildcats' season, and Indiana will advance to face No. 3-seeded Illinois in the second-round of the tournament.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats were eliminated after going down 4-0, but had signs of hope remaining for the three singles matches that went unfinished. At No. 3, Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) lost his first set 6-4, but had a 5-3 advantage into the second set.

At No. 6 singles, David Seyferth (Ann Arbor, Michigan/Ann Arbor Pioneer) also lost the first set, 6-4, but had a 6-5 lead into the second set. Finally, at No. 5, Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill), who was facing his older brother Michael, had fought his way into a third set with his elder sibling. After losing the first set 6-2, Andrew McCarthy took the second set, 6-3, and had a 3-2 lead over his older brother halfway through the third set.

Northwestern will work hard to make a turnaround for next season. Head coach Arvid Swan and his staff already have made several adjustments that earned the Wildcats a top-11 recruiting class heading into next season.

Singles competition

1. Thomas Richter (IND) def. Marc Dwyer (NU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Dara McLoughlin (IND) def. Alex Sanborn (NU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Phillip Eilers (IND) vs. Alexander Thams (NU) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
4. Lachlan Ferguson (IND) def. Peter Rispoli (NU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Michael McCarthy (IND) vs. Andrew McCarthy (NU) 6-2, 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Santiago Gruter (IND) vs. David Seyferth (NU) 6-4, 5-6, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Phillip Eilers/Lachlan Ferguson (IND) def. Marc Dwyer/Alex Sanborn (NU) 7-5, unfinished
2. Thomas Richter/Dara McLoughlin (IND) def. David Seyferth/Peter Rispoli (NU) 8-5
3. Santiago Gruter/Peter Antons (IND) def. Alexander Thams/Andrew McCarthy (NU) 8-5

Match Notes

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,4)
Big Ten Championship - Round One
No. 6 seed Indiana vs. No. 11 seed Northwestern